19th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO + Policy Forum

• Speakers - Main Hall
• Speakers - Policy Forum
• Exhibitors
• Host
• Co-Hosts
• Sponsors
• For more information

VIDEOS

• Congressional and Administration Speakers

  1. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD)
  2. Rep. Peter Welch (VT)
  3. Dr. Martin Keller, Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
  4. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power Roland Risser, Department of Energy
  5. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)
  6. Rep. Paul Tonko (NY)
  7. Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM)
  8. Sen. Jack Reed (RI)
  9. Rep. Tony Cardenas (CA)
  10. Rep. Matthew Cartwright (PA)
  11. Sen. Ed Markey (MA)

• Panels (Policy Forum)

  1. Setting the Stage
  2. Biosolutions: Bio-Based Energy and Materials
  3. Sustainable & Net-Zero Energy Buildings
  4. Defense
  5. The Big Picture
  6. Grid, Storage, and Transmission
  7. Energy From Waste
  8. Renewable Energy
  9. Ultra-Low Energy Passive Buildings

  CONGRESSIONAL AND ADMINISTRATION SPEAKERS

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD)
Co-Chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus

Rep. Peter Welch (VT)

Dr. Martin Keller
Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power Roland Risser
Dept. of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)

Rep. Paul Tonko (NY)

Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM)

Sen. Jack Reed (RI)
Co-Chair of the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus

Rep. Tony Cardenas (CA)

Rep. Matthew Cartwright (PA)

Sen. Ed Markey (MA)

  POLICY FORUM SPEAKERS

9:20 AM – 9:50 AM

Panel 1—Setting the Stage

Dr. Deborah Stine, Professor of the Practice, Engineering and Public Policy Department; Associate Director for Policy Outreach, Carnegie Mellon Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
The ability of energy and environmental technologies to reach their full potential in the marketplace is frequently affected by public policy actions. These non-market influences are sometimes intentional, but often unintentionally limit a beneficial technology’s potential. This presentation will discuss several real-world case studies that illustrate this situation, and identify policy actions that may be worth consideration.

Nicole Steele, Executive Director, GRID Alternatives
Nicole Steele will discuss current affairs related to clean energy equity, with a focus on solar energy and the work GRID Alternatives is doing to ensure a diverse energy economy.

Scott Sklar, Steering Committee Chair, Sustainable Energy Coalition

Roland Risser, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

9:55 AM – 10:40 AM

Panel 2—Biosolutions: Bio-Based Energy and Materials

Ben Bell-Walker, Technical Affairs Director, Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC)

Jennifer Jenkins, Chief Sustainability Officer, Enviva
Renewable fuel from wood pellets: the Enviva case.

Chris Bliley, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Growth Energy

Ben Evans, Director of Public Affairs, National Biodiesel Board
Ben Evans will discuss biodiesel and renewable diesel’s role as the leading advanced biofuel in America today. Biodiesel has grown from a niche industry to a commercial-scale, nationwide fuel. Last year alone, Americans used nearly 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel.

Claude Convisser, CEO & General Counsel, Plant Oil Powered (POP) Diesel
Plant oil powered diesel fuel, otherwise known as straight vegetable oil, has won EPA approval for sale to select engines. Coming from the jatropha tree's fruit seeds, cultivated by small-scale farmers on their own non-forested, tropical savannah land with companion food crops, it has the lowest net life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of any diesel engine fuel. But is it affordable and scalable?

10:45 AM – 11:20 AM

Panel 3—Sustainable & Net-Zero Energy Buildings

Stephen Washington, Vice President Business Development and Govt. Affairs, Basic Power
Power Quality: The Energy Efficiency Paradox. Energy-efficient technologies that manipulate the AC wave to reduced device power consumption are lowering the potential for real energy savings by creating electrical noise on the line, resulting in less efficient power. The majority of U.S buildings have poor electrical grounding which negatively impact energy conservation measures.

Kiere DeGrandchamp, Director of Construction Operations, High Performance Homes
High performance homes are homes built to exceptional quality standards for better living. It’s a whole-house approach to designing a home that provides superior performance through zero-energy-ready design and achieves extraordinary levels of energy-efficiency savings, improved comfort, health and durability.

John Pouland, Vice President of Government Affairs and Solutions, Philips Lighting
John Pouland will focus on energy efficiency in general and LED lighting with controls in particular. Adoption of this technology will produce significant savings to federal agencies and reduce energy consumption in the United States.

Kurt Riesenberg, Executive Director, Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA)
Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) insulation and roofing are among the best energy efficiency and durability solutions available today to customers seeking efficiency and net zero-building performance. Kurt Riesenberg will cover basic performance benefits of SPF relating to Net-Zero Buildings, types of installations, applicability toward tax programs, relevance to the anticipated comprehensive energy bill, and a brief explanation of the industry’s new certification program – which highlights the need for experienced and properly trained installers as part of U.S. energy workforce development.

John Spears, President, Sustainable Design Group
John Spears will be speaking about 100 percent solar homes with batteries and solar electric car charging—for a solar home that also fuels owners' cars. He will talk about examples of such homes in the DC region.

Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect, Building Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy
Sam Rashkin will discuss the Department of Energy's Zero Energy Ready Homes (ZERH).

11:25 AM – 12:25 PM

Panel 4—Defense

General Wesley Clark

Amanda Simpson, DASD for Operational Energy, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Lisa Jung, DASD for Installation Energy, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Mark Correll, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Infrastructure, U.S. Air Force

Michael McGhee, Director, Office of Energy Initiatives, U.S. Army

Brian Magnuson, Colonel, Marine Corps Expeditionary Energy Office, U.S. Marine Corps

Joseph Bryan, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Energy), U.S. Navy

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee

12:30 PM – 1:15 PM

Panel 5—The Big Picture

Ruth McCormick, Director, Federal and State Affairs, Business Council for Sustainable Energy
New energy technologies in the United States made further critical advances and locked in long-term gains in 2015, according to a recent study from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE). Among other achievements, energy efficiency continued to rise, renewable power generation set new records, and natural gas consumption and production surged as CO2 emissions fell to levels not seen since the 1990s, while power prices remained flat. These and other trends are chronicled in BNEF and BCSE’s fourth annual Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, a 150-slide almanac of key facts and figures on the evolution of the U.S. energy sector.

Jack Thirolf, Head of Regulatory Affairs, Enel Green Power North America

Joseph Eaves, Director, Government Relations, National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
Systems: The Pathway to Further EE Product Savings
Energy efficiency has become a major focus for government, municipalities, power utilities, and the industrial sector. Each entity focuses its attention on specific  components—e.g., motors and lighting—but it is important to evaluate the total system when thinking about energy efficiency.

Mark A. McCall, Executive Director, Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) invests in the power of American innovation. LPO investments accelerate the deployment of innovative clean energy projects and advanced vehicle manufacturing facilities across the United States. LPO currently supports a large, diverse portfolio of more than $30 billion in loans, loan guarantees, and commitments, covering more than 30 projects across the United States. These projects have generated more than $50 billion in total project investment, supported tens of thousands of jobs, cut pollution, and enhanced American competitiveness in the global economy.

Andy Kunz, President & CEO, US High Speed Rail Association
Andy Kunz will discuss the imperative need for the United States to build out a national high speed rail system, which will simultaneously offer the largest-scale solution to the energy, transportation, and climate crises that the United States faces today. High speed rail is a technology powered by electricity, and if the United States aims to rapidly reduce carbon emissions at a national scale, the country needs to increase its production of renewable energy to power high speed rail and other electric transportation. Not only does high speed rail and electric transportation offer many environmental and economic co-benefits, but it also serves to stimulate compact, mixed-use, walkable development around rail stations (known as transit oriented development) which creates a compound benefit to transitioning Americans away from automobile and fossil fuel dependence.

Thomas Horner, Vice President, Water Management
Thomas Horner will discuss water management and efficiency at the Water Authority and client-side of the meter.

1:20 PM – 2:00 PM

Panel 6—Grid, Storage, and Transmission

Bill White, Director of Public Affairs, CTC Global

Keith Dennis, PE, CEM, Senior Principal, End-Use Solutions and Standards, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
The Environmental Benefits of Efficient Electricity Use and “Community Storage”
Electric vehicles and many new heat pump models not only use electricity very efficiently—the technologies also can reduce carbon emissions, decrease overall end-use energy consumption, smooth peak, and cut household fuel costs for consumers. In addition to “beneficial electrification” opportunities that can reduce fossil fuel by substituting renewable energy, devices commonly found in communities—such as electric water heaters and electric vehicles—provide innovative energy storage opportunities.

Bret Adams, VP Business Development, Sales and Marketing, Primus Power
New storage technologies are providing opportunities to reduce peak energy costs, integrate intermittent renewable resources, and increase network resilience against extreme weather events and human attacks. This talk will discuss the multiple uses for energy storage, where the technology is headed, and what policymakers can do to promote the development and use of storage technology for a cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable electric grid.

Mike Jacobs, Senior Energy Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists

James Hoecker, WIRES Counsel (Husch Blackwell LLP) and former Chairman of FERC
James Hoecker will discuss planning delivery infrastructure for a clean energy future.

2:05 PM – 2:35 PM

Panel 7—Energy From Waste

Patrick Serfass, Executive Director, American Biogas Council.

Kevin Kraushaar, Esq., Vice President, Government Affairs & Chapter Operations, National Waste & Recycling Association
Kevin Kraushaar's presentation will focus on what NWRA members are doing to create and maintain sources of sustainable energy, new vehicle emissions technology grants, tax incentives, etc.

Marcus Gillette, Director of Public and Government Affairs, Renewable Natural Gas Coalition
Marcus Gillette will present on the United States’ renewable natural gas opportunity.

Sara Bixby, Deputy Executive Director, Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA)
Sara Bixby will speak on the implications of the new national food waste reduction goals for energy demand and recovery in managing waste and recyclables.

2:40 PM – 3:25 PM

Panel 8—Renewable Energy

Reid Spolek, Manager of Renewable Energy, Amazon Web Services
Representing a major user of renewable energy, Reid Spolek will discuss Amazon Web Services’ long term commitment to achieve 100 percent renewable energy usage for the company’s global infrastructure footprint, and policies at the federal and state level that can help enable the greater availability of renewable energy sources throughout the United States. Reid Spolek will also discuss the positive economic impact that investment in renewables can have for local communities.

Jim Reilly, Senior Vice President of Federal Legislative Affairs, American Wind Energy Association
Jim Reilly will speak on the current state of the wind industry, particularly in light of the five-year federal Production Tax Credit passed by Congress last December; as well as the policy challenges ahead such as transmission expansion and siting challenges. 

Jacob Irving, President, Canadian Hydropower Association

Karl Gawell, Executive Director, Geothermal Energy Association
Karl Gawell will discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the geothermal industry in the United States and worldwide.

Jeff Leahey, Deputy Executive Director, National Hydropower Association

John Kalish, Chief, Office of Renewable Energy Coordination, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Department of the Interior
John Kalish will discuss the Bureau of Land Management's contributions to meeting renewable energy goals established in the President's Climate Action Plan.

3:30 PM – 4:10 PM

Panel 9—Ultra-Low Energy Passive Buildings

Paul Bertram, Director, Environment & Sustainability, Kingspan
How Policy Drives High-Performance, Energy-Efficient Buildings and Creates Jobs in a Low-Carbon World.
Kingspan provides buildings energy efficiency solutions with insulated metal panels, rigid board insulation, solar energy, roof top daylighting and LEDs. Kingspan is mandated to have all operations net-zero energy by 2020 with 50 percent compliance by the end of this year. Energy-efficient envelopes impact over 50 percent of the building energy productivity that reduces demand-side source energy and related greenhouse gases.

Aurimas Sabulis, Principal, Intus Windows
Aurimas Sabulis will discuss energy-efficient window and door solutions.

Katrin Klingenberg, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Passive House Institute US (PHIUS)

Luke Langhals, Director of Business Development, UltimateAir

John Rockwell, Technical Sales Engineer, Zehnder America Inc.
As new energy codes demand more efficient buildings, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery becomes a primary strategy to save energy, reduce cooling and heating costs, improve comfort, and maintain excellent indoor air quality. Zehnder America offers the most efficient ventilation system available in North America, meeting or exceeding stringent Passive House performance criteria.