Xiang LI

Honored Associate Research Professor

Peking University Energy Institute

Dr Xiang Li is an honored associate research professor at the Institute of Energy, Peking University.

Prior to joining Peking University, Dr Li was a manager at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). He oversaw RMI’s China Power Initiative and led the institute’s power market reform, coal control, and corporate renewable procurement work in China.

Dr Li was a senior energy analyst and project officer at the International Energy Agency (IEA) from 2017 to 2019. At the IEA, he led and coordinated two key research under the framework of “China National Energy Administration (NEA) – IEA three-year work program”, and was the main author of corresponding reports “Power Market Reform in China – An International Perspective” and “China Power System Transformation – Assessing the Benefit of Optimized Operations and Advanced Flexibility Options”. He was also the main author of IEA’s “Gas Market Liberalization Reform – Key Insights from International Experiences and the implications for China”.

Prior to the IEA, Dr Li had worked at China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute (EPPEI) since 2012. He was entrusted by the NEA to work on the 13th Five-Year Plan and engage in several crucial energy sector policy-making work, including: China power sector development strategy planning, thermal power flexibility, co-firing biomass with coal, ultra-low emission of coal power, streamlining the administrative approval process of coal power, combined-heat-and-power planning in Northern China, and gas power development planning, etc. Besides that, Dr Li reviewed and evaluated the feasibility study, preliminary design, comprehensive retrofitting of over 100 power projects. He won the NEA’s Soft Science Award in 2015 and was awarded as Advanced Individual and Outstanding Young Professional by EPPEI, respectively.

Xiang Li holds a Ph.D. and a B.Eng. in thermal engineering from Tsinghua University.