President Barack Obama’s 2011 State of the Union speech termed development of clean energy sources our “Sputnik Moment,” and called for 80% of the nation’s electricity to be generated from renewables, clean coal, and nuclear power by 2035. The message is clear: we need research, development and deployment of a new generation of energy technologies. The president’s focus on the technology of renewable energy, however, is an indicator that a deceptively difficult question remains less well addressed: how can we overcome the built-in barriers of the current electricity infrastructure and create the distribution system that will bring renewable energy to American homes? The technology already exists to put solar photovoltaic panels on millions of homes, but we have paid inadequate attention to getting them there. This lack of focus on distribution will limit residential solar deployment indefinitely, unless it is addressed soon.