I think another benefit of rooftop solar related to your second point is that it also lowers the demand on the grid. It also adds some ability to develop disaster resiliency in terms of having hyper-local power generation.

Solar still needs to contend with the fact that demand peaks are not aligned with output peaks (ie the famous “duck curve”) - which is of course where storage and other power sources need to be used in tandem. Still, rooftop and large solar installations will both need to be used.

No patchers? Interesting…

one of the things that makes the book great IMO is that the stakes of the London storyline are actually quite low - effectively a Chinatown style story in the London storyline - despite their immense implications in the Canton storyline -it really nicely, subtly reflects the core premise of the books, ie the unequal distribution of the impact of uh late-stage capitalism or whatever. Trying to be vague to avoid spoilers. But yeah, it’s Gibson’s best attempt IMO at finally capturing his famous line that the future is here, just unevenly distributed - but with the realization that it’s climate collapse and not technological innovation that defines the future and it’s unequal distribution.

The fact that a lot of the actual machinations stuff which drive the plot are all in the background and only peripheral (ahem) to the main storyline is a really great, subtle touch, and the Patchers are a perfect example of that...

I’m not sure if I’m going to watch… the London storyline seemed all too glamorous and fun and exciting and action-packed in the trailers, though it could just be the trailers and a question of it being Flynne’s perspective… but still, the whole thing that makes the book so amazing is the deep ennui and emptiness that permeates the London storyline, and even the Canton one too. Despite the craziness there, it comes across more as just a matter of characters accepting the weirdness that is life, rather than some grand adventure. Trailers gave a bit of the opposite vibe, but again, they are trailers. I love that in the book, when Flynne first works as Milagros, it’s piloting a tiny drone doing pretty boring, mundane surveillance/security work, not some cool adventure - it’s more Rear Window and Blow Up/Blow Out or the Conversation than James Bond…

I would love to see an amazing adaptation of this, even with the difficulties of translating his prose to screen… but I’m nervous about this one.