I wouldn’t characterize incorporating renewables into the energy mix as making people go back to the choices your grandpa made — water or no water.
These technologies promise to be a good piece of the puzzle and I’m glad we’re pursuing them.
Well, that's the concern. If we rely heavily (and some advocate this, not necessarily you) on energy sources that are inherently chaotic and unreliable, we may be faced with that very choice, although it may not be so much of a choice as a requirement.
The folks in CA got a taste of this a few years ago when they had their electricity shortages. Their choices came down to, blackout now, or blackout later. Thing is, there were people just a few years before agitating for the trashing of the Rancho Seco nuclear plant that used this very argument, that we didn't need nukes to provide the capacity we needed, wind would do as well. Turned out, reality bit them in their a$$e$. During their heat wave, wind-generated electricity in CA averaged about a 5% capacity factor. IOW, when they needed it most, it wasn't there. Contrast that with the nuclear industry, where 90-100% capacity factors are becoming routine.