Solar is immensely useful even without storage, just absorbing peak power requirements in the daytime.
The first thing that people have to realize is that, barring somebody coming up with "Mr. Fusion" in the near future, there's not going to be some miracle alternative energy that's going to negate our need for conventional sources.
Every source has a role to play in a well-balanced energy mix. Nuclear is clean, and runs 24/7 at huge power outputs. This is hard to beat. Coal is cheap and we have a lot of domestic supply, but (so far) it's pretty dirty. Natural gas is cleaner. Solar can be widely distributed, and power used where it's generated. I don't know how many balance sheets have factored in power losses through transmission in figuring solar versus power plant.
In California, wind power tends to be most abundant at night, when power needs are low, and a lot of it isn't even used sometimes from what I've heard. However, when electric cars come into wider use (normally charged at night) this bug will become a feature.