And the transmission costs argument is precisely why we'd likely be better off solving the problem of distributing power production across a more decentralized grid with a lot of wind and solar and battery all over the place
So if you build loads of wind & solar & battery all over - either (1) you've got to build so much battery capacity, all over, that you'll never need the grid, or (2) you've still got to build the grid to get you through occasional "calm & dark" periods.
Either way, you're looking at vastly higher capital expenses.
- moderately overbuild solar
- batteries for short term storage
- natural gas for seasonal storage