I find that solar works pretty well to power our weekend cabin. A 32watt panel and a 12 golf cart battery powers lights and radios etc all weekend. Still need a generator for power tools or vacuum cleaner.
Wouldn’t work so well for a house. You need a big battery room and a back up generator. And those batteries need to be replaced every few years. And.. and.. and..
“And those batteries need to be replaced every few years.”
The success of solar as a major power producer requires better batteries than we have now. Battery development is another technology that (I think) doesn’t require massive investment.
I consider solar power to be a successful endeavor. It’s used in more and more places, mostly remote installations requiring a small amount of power. But that’s fine.