The two-day China-US Green Electricity Development Dialogue successfully concluded in Beijing on December 11. Co-hosted by the China Energy Research Society (CERS), Energy Internet Research Institute, Tsinghua University, and the China Energy Foundation (CEF), the event gathered nearly 100 experts and scholars from Sino-US research institutions, universities, and power enterprises. Participants conducted thorough exchanges on the latest policies, market planning frameworks, and institutional design mechanisms for green electricity development in both countries
As the world’s top two electricity producers and consumers, China and the United States leveraged this Dialogue to bridge communication gaps in green electricity development. Participating experts from both nations shared successful power market reform experiences while conducting substantive discussions on common challenges confronting their energy transitions
Shi Yubo, Chairman of the China Energy Research Society; Gao Feng, Vice President of the Energy Internet Research Institute at Tsinghua University; and Zou Ji, CEO and President of the Energy Foundation China, attended the conference and delivered opening remarks. Renowned U.S. academics including Daniel Kammen (Professor, UC Berkeley), Burçin Ünel (Executive Director, Institute for Policy Integrity, NYU School of Law), Jesse Jenkins (Assistant Professor, Princeton University), Johanna Mathieu (Associate Professor, University of Michigan), Chiara Lo Prete (Associate Professor, Penn State University), Yury Dvorkin (Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University), Benjamin Leibowicz (Associate Professor, University of Texas), and Michael Davidson (Assistant Professor, UC San Diego) presented keynote speeches.
These international experts then engaged in dialogues with leading Chinese specialists from the Energy Research Institute of China Academy of Macroeconomic Research, State Grid Corporation of China, Hydropower and Water Resources Planning & Design Institute, National Electric Power Dispatching and Control Center, Peking University, Beijing Power Exchange Center, Guangzhou Power Exchange Center, and the Energy Foundation. Discussions centered on critical topics including power sector decarbonization policies, power system decarbonization pathways, electricity market design, and resource adequacy mechanisms.
Professor Daniel Kammen from the University of California, Berkeley presented breakthroughs in green electricity technologies and policy innovations essential for addressing the climate crisis. He underscored that smart vehicle-grid integration technology and green electricity-to-green hydrogen-to-green methanol pathways will play pivotal roles in advancing green power solutions. Regarding policy frameworks, Professor Kammen stressed the critical need for enhancing inclusivity and equity while expanding international cooperation through strategic policy architecture.
Burçin Ünel, Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law, and Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor at Princeton University, shared insights and experiences on mechanisms and policy design in the U.S. energy transition and pathways for power sector decarbonization. Burçin Ünel pointed out that current discussions on U.S. electricity market reform clearly highlight the critical importance of resource adequacy, capacity reliability calculations, demand-side management, and proactive, holistic transmission planning. Jesse Jenkins added that while the ongoing expansion of wind, solar, and grid-scale storage in the U.S., coupled with the strategy of phasing out coal, retaining nuclear, and stabilizing gas, effectively supports current decarbonization efforts in the power system, achieving deeper decarbonization will require increased investment in R&D for flexible, reliable low-carbon generation technologies. He emphasized the need to design corresponding policies to advance their demonstration and commercial deployment.
Johanna Mathieu, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, provided an in-depth analysis of the hardware and software technologies enabling distributed energy resources (DERs) to participate in frequency regulation ancillary service markets. She stated that DERs can and should engage in electricity markets, and with the support of aggregation technologies and network-aware resource coordination technologies, they can meet the demanding requirements of frequency regulation services.
Chiara Lo Prete, Associate Professor at Pennsylvania State University, and Yury Dvorkin, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University, respectively discussed comparative studies of zonal versus nodal pricing mechanisms in China, the U.S., and Europe, as well as potential new waves of reform in U.S. electricity markets. Chiara Lo Prete pointed out that Europe’s zonal pricing mechanism and the formation of pricing zones were shaped by historical development conditions and political requirements. Currently, severe grid congestion within regions has increasingly exposed the limitations of zonal pricing. China’s approach, she emphasized, should adapt to local conditions and undergo careful analysis.Yury Dvorkin noted that U.S. electricity market development also faces market failures, such as inadequate consideration of extreme events and insufficient carbon emission accounting. Solutions are being formulated, as market design is a dynamic process. He suggested that China’s market design should be forward-looking and minimize constraints from traditional approaches. Breaking free from these constraints, he added, requires government support in both technological R&D and institutional mechanisms.
Benjamin Leibowicz, Associate Professor at the University of Texas, shared theoretical frameworks and practical approaches for improving resource adequacy assessment. He emphasized that such frameworks require comprehensive consideration across multiple dimensions—including reliability metrics, foundational data models, and capacity procurement mechanisms—and must develop implementation roadmaps tailored to actual system conditions.
Michael Davidson, Assistant Professor at the University of California San Diego, examined critical challenges and countermeasures for resource assurance in power systems, particularly focusing on medium- to long-term interprovincial and cross-regional transactions, using China and the U.S. as case studies. He highlighted that enhancing the flexibility of China’s interprovincial medium- to long-term electricity trading holds significant value for ensuring supply security and price stability.
This event served as a high-level platform for exchange and collaboration between Chinese and U.S. academic communities and the energy/power sectors. Participating experts unanimously recognized that international dialogue on green electricity development constitutes a crucial component of Sino-U.S. cooperation. They pledged to jointly provide ongoing insights and recommendations for global carbon emission reduction and the achievement of climate goals.
