A parting shot from Barack Obama's administration: Within the next five years, smart grid concepts such as advanced energy storage, microgrids and demand response will be accelerating toward deployment at a much faster clip than they are today.

On June 16, the White House unveiled a cornucopia of initiatives centered around energy storage. Taken together, the concepts are aimed at helping integrate variable renewable power sources such as wind and solar into the grid, establishing blackout-resilient systems and helping utilities better manage electricity demand. Among the White House's announcements were:

Funding for microgrid projects at military bases and in rural areas.

Increased collection of data for energy use and rates, as well as standardization and privacy-minded dissemination of that data.

Programs meant to drive investment in energy storage systems.

Increased use of smart water heaters, energy meters and demand response to smooth out the energy use curve throughout the day.