Clean Energy EXPO 2026: Building Reliable and Resilient Energy Systems

The 29th Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum was held on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. The event was hosted by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), with the House and Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (REEE) Caucuses serving as honorary co-hosts. It featured six panels, including Building Reliable and Resilient Energy Systems.

Lynn Wendt, Director, Biomass Feedstock National User Facility, Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Highlights

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Metadata, all of the fact-based information that is pulled in by an organization, is critical to building accurate models and making predictions for energy systems. Gathering metadata supports resilient and reliable electricity distribution by tracking the quality and movement of electricity along power lines.
Optimizing different energy assets across the United States—such as utilities, feedstocks, and hydropower—is key to delivering energy to distributed areas of the country.
Waste products from crops, forest residues, and garbage can be turned into fuel or used to generate electricity in power plants.

Emily Goforth, Chief Revenue Officer, Grid Clarity

Building reliable and resilient energy systems requires rethinking the way data—particularly metadata—is measured, monitored, and managed. Metadata is all of the fact-based information that is pulled in by an organization.
Metadata supports resilient and reliable electricity distribution by making it possible to track the quality and movement of electricity along power lines.
Gathering environmental metadata from utility infrastructure surroundings is important for managing the electrical distribution grid. For example, different transformers in different temperatures manage wattage differently—which affects power quality, reliability, and sustainability. If not managed properly, stress from changing temperatures can lead to degradation and complicate asset management.
Environmental variables such as soil moisture can alter electromagnetic waves in ways that affect the power quality and reliability of distributed electricity.

Lynn Wendt, Director, Biomass Feedstock National User Facility, Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Optimizing different energy assets across the United States—such as utilities, feedstocks, and hydropower—is key to delivering energy to distributed areas of the country.
Waste products from crops, forest residues, and garbage can be turned into fuel or used to generate electricity in power plants.
Shifting demand curves throughout the grid cause uncertainty when deciding which power source to use for which purpose; however, determining the best use of power sources is important to optimize the U.S. energy system.
As electricity prices continue to rise, INL is focused on using bioenergy resources to add stability and support a resilient power grid.

Compiled by Megan Davies and edited for clarity and length. This is not a transcript.

2026 Clean Energy EXPO Policy Forum