The 2nd China-US Low-Carbon Power Dialogue was successfully held in Guangzhou from January 22 to 23, co-hosted by the China Energy Research Society (CERS), Tsinghua University and South China University of Technology (SCUT), and organized by the Power Market Research Center of China Southern Power Grid (CSG-PMRC). Experts and scholars from research institutions, universities and power enterprises of China and the United States attended the conference, and conducted extensive exchanges and discussions on the latest policies, market planning and mechanism design of the power market under the background of China-US low-carbon power development.
Chen Yunpeng, Vice Chairman of CERS; Wang Jian, Deputy General Manager of the Marketing Department of China Southern Power Grid (CSG); Kang Chongqing, Dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA) of Tsinghua University; Tang Wenhu, Dean of the School of Electric Power Engineering of SCUT; and Zhang Yongping, Director of the Clean Power Program of the Energy Foundation (EF), attended the conference and delivered speeches. Guo Hongye, Associate Research Fellow of EEA at Tsinghua University, presided over the opening ceremony.
Famous American experts and scholars including Professor Daniel Kammen of Johns Hopkins University, Rob Gramlich, Chairman of Grid Strategies, Erik Ela, Director of the System Operation and Power Market Department of ESIG, Professor Lang Tong of Cornell University, Professor Ramteen Sioshansi of Carnegie Mellon University, Associate Professor Yury Dvorkin of Johns Hopkins University, Associate Professor Johanna Mathieu of the University of Michigan, and Jeremy Hargreaves, Chief Expert of Evolved Energy Research, attended the conference and delivered keynote speeches respectively.
More than 100 Chinese experts and scholars from CSG, Guangzhou Power Exchange Center (GPX), China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI), Tsinghua University, Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), SCUT, CERS, EF, the National Innovation Center for New Energy Storage (NIC-NES) and other institutions participated in the conference.
The dialogue consisted of four major topics, namely Policy and Market Design for Promoting Clean Power Generation, Transmission and Consumption, Planning and Market Practice to Support Low-Carbon Flexibility and Resource Adequacy, Market Design for Power Systems with a High Penetration of Renewable Energy, and Energy System Planning and Operation Considering Demand-Side Coordination. Chinese and American experts and scholars held dialogues in the forms of keynote reports, roundtable discussions, interactive Q&A and free exchanges, focusing on the progress and prospects of China-US power markets, the construction of a national unified power market, policies for the clean transformation of the power sector, resource adequacy and flexibility, and supply-demand interaction.
The first topic, Policy and Market Design for Promoting Clean Power Generation, Transmission and Consumption, was presided over by Guo Hongye from Tsinghua University. In the keynote reports, Professor Daniel Kammen introduced the global cooperation experience related to the construction of a clean energy system and energy justice, while Rob Gramlich detailed the main characteristics and development direction of the US power market. Chen Wei, General Manager of CSG-PMRC and Deputy General Manager of GPX, sorted out the development and reform experience of the southern regional power market and looked forward to the future construction direction of regional power markets. The roundtable discussion also specially invited Liang Zhipeng, Chairman of the Renewable Energy Special Committee of CERS, to participate in the discussion, conducting in-depth exchanges on the policy and market design for the clean energy transition in China and the United States.
The second topic, Planning and Market Practice to Support Low-Carbon Flexibility and Resource Adequacy, was presided over by Li Zhiyong, Manager of the Dispatching Center of CSG. In the keynote reports, Erik Ela sorted out the organizational structure of the global power market and introduced the capacity market design and organizational processes, and Professor Lang Tong discussed the impact of the collaborative deployment of energy sources and loads in data centers on capacity adequacy. Professor Jing Zhaoxia of SCUT explored the interaction between the optimal design of the power market system and government decision-making from the perspective of system dynamics, and Chen Jiongcong of NIC-NES gave a detailed introduction to the strategic value and commercial operation mode of new energy storage in China. The roundtable discussion also invited Dr. Zhang Yongping, Director of the Clean Power Program of EF, and Kong Huadong of NIC-NES to discuss with the speakers the definition and support methods of capacity adequacy and flexibility in China and the United States.
The third topic, Market Design for Power Systems with a High Penetration of Renewable Energy, was presided over by Professor Liu Zhaoxi of SCUT. In the keynote report session, Professor Ramteen Sioshansi explained the applicability of the marginal electricity price theory in the context of a high penetration of new energy, and Associate Professor Yury Dvorkin elaborated on the importance of focusing on modeling quality rather than quantity in the process of power system planning and market policy design. Zheng Yaxian, Professor-level Senior Engineer of the Automation Institute of CEPRI, gave a comprehensive introduction to her team's research results in the design, simulation and improvement of the national unified power market, and Associate Research Fellow Guo Hongye sorted out the current situation, causes and evolution trends of negative electricity prices at home and abroad. The roundtable discussion also invited Zheng ying, Member of the Power Market and Carbon Market Special Committee of CERS, to participate in the discussion. The guests exchanged views on power market design under high penetration of new energy, green certificate prices and negative price mechanisms, and the participation of new energy in the market.
Li Zhuo, Program Director of the Clean Power Program of EF, presided over the fourth topic, Energy System Planning and Operation Considering Demand-Side Coordination. In the keynote report session, Associate Professor Johanna Mathieu introduced the role of various definitions of demand-side response in tapping the value of distributed resources under power systems with a high penetration of new energy, and Dr. Jeremy Hargreaves presented the quantitative measurement results of the impact of the shift in US renewable energy policies on the development of energy systems. Dr. Li Jiangnan of Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau of CSG gave a detailed introduction to the successful practical experience and technological development of Shenzhen's virtual power plant, and Tang Run, Manager of Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau of CSG, introduced the relevant policies and practical experience of vehicle-grid interaction in Guangzhou. The roundtable discussion also invited Associate Professor Hui Hongxun from the State Key Laboratory of Smart City IoT of the University of Macau to participate in the exchange. Chinese and American guests held warm and friendly discussions on how to exert the demand-side response value of residential areas, commercial buildings and electric vehicles, as well as the future development prospects of virtual power plant technology.
This event built a high-level exchange and cooperation platform for the Chinese and American academic circles and the energy and power industry, broke the communication barriers between the two countries in the field of green power development, and conducted substantive discussions on the common problems faced by China and the United States in the field of low-carbon power. The participating experts unanimously agreed that China and the United States are the world's top two countries in power production and consumption, and maintaining dialogue in the field of low-carbon power development has practical value and long-term significance. In the future, the two sides will continue to work together to achieve global carbon emission reduction and climate goals.
Acknowledgements to Supporting Media and Academic Platforms: China Energy News, Southern Energy Observer, Power System Technology, Automation of Electric Power Systems, Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy.
About the Power Market Research Center of China Southern Power Grid (CSG-PMRC)
Founded in November 2025, CSG-PMRC is a key deployment of China Southern Power Grid to better integrate into the construction of a national unified power market, fully support the planning and deployment of the national unified big market, and comprehensively strengthen the forward-looking research and planning capacity of the power market. Adhering to the positioning of Serving National Strategies and Leading Industrial Progress, it focuses on cutting-edge research and decision-making support in the field of power market, and contributes CSG's wisdom to the construction of a national unified power market and the high-quality development of the energy and power industry.
