Large-scale solar on roofs is a pipe dream? Southern California (where they produce
*too much* power at some times of the year) would beg to differ. Local storage is not really necessary for grid-tie installations, but would be nice (that's going to be my next project). Grid-level storage would solve California-style problems, among other things (ref: Tesla's Hornsdale battery).
One of the approaches my city takes for people who can't afford PV (either cash or roof space) is community solar. There are two pilot projects currently in operation. For what it's worth, the inspector from my city/power company was quite positive about our solar install, and said it he wished more folks would do the same. I'm speculating, but I expect the extra cost of monitoring and balancing a local grid with local PV production is less than the expense to buy short-term power from the regional grid.
You also need storage, since on weekdays most people can only have their car at home for charging when its dark.
I'm sure I don't represent most people, but I leave home at ~8:30 AM. Since ~March, I have about 1.5-2 hours of sunshine by this time each day. I set up by Bolt EV to charge so that it is ready by 8:30 AM, so it pulls power only in the mornings. I can verify from the solar system monitor that about half the time, my car charges solely from my PV system. It helps that my panels are east-facing (I don't have a south-facing roof). On average, my net usage is negative, even including the EV.