We mentioned the need to move to a more modern energy grid, the so-called "Intelligrid," and San Francisco clean-technology investor Rob Day has responded with a great three part series (one, two and three) on its feasibility. For cleantech wonks, it is worth the read. In part, the reality Rob describes is tough -- change will be slow. The sector is a complex one. But he is encouraging too: There is room for pressure, for prodding, for more decision-making by politicians, for investments by capitalists:

So with policies already somewhat in place, attitudes and awareness changing, and costs coming down rapidly, it's easy to understand why emerging distributed energy technologies are getting a lot of interest from the venture investing community. And why the intelligent grid is coming, albeit slowly.