Training Alumni Newsletter - 01/2026

Training News & Highlights

An overview of what’s happened in the last months and what lies ahead for 2026

2025:

October

• Our colleagues from Agora’s Power System Transformation team piloted the new Electricity Market Design training in Bangkok, hosting two cohorts for collaborative learning and lively exchange – an exciting first edition of a training we hope to repeat in the future.

November

• A first for us: Breaking the Gridlock: Pakistan, our regionally tailored edition of the original grids-programme! With incredible support from our partners  PRIED and SDPI, this training addressed local grid challenges and sparked meaningful dialogue on planning, flexibility and integration in Pakistan’s power system.

December

• Big news to close the year! Our long-anticipated new training project funded by the International Climate Initiative has officially received the green light. Over the next four years, we’ll be rolling out a series of collaborative, impact-driven training initiatives, together with our partners at E+ Energy Transition Institute in Brazil. Stay tuned for more trainings and alumni activities coming your way soon.

2026:

May

• We’ll be hosting the second cohort of our one-week Industry Transformation training this May – welcoming applicants from think tanks and civil society organisations from around the world. We have already selected a fantastic group of participants and look forward to welcoming them in Berlin.

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Liming Qiao

We were delighted to speak with Liming Qiao, a long-time leader in the Asia-Pacific energy transition and recent recipient of the Climate Breakthrough Award 2025. After nearly two decades working at the forefront of offshore wind deployment with the Global Wind Energy Council, Liming Qiao is now launching a new chapter with the Future Energy Storage and System Integration Alliance (FESSIA). She reflects on key milestones from her career, shares insights from her Agora Training experience and explains why system integration and energy storage are becoming the next critical frontiers of the energy transition – along with candid advice for women entering the field with big ambitions.

Agora Training: Can you give us a quick overview of Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)’s mission and some of the most exciting projects you’ve worked on during your time there? Any achievements you’re particularly proud of over the last several years?

Liming Qiao: The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) is the global trade association for the wind energy sector. I worked with GWEC Asia, covering East and Southeast Asia (excluding China and India). Our main role has been to help create the conditions for wind energy to scale up – especially offshore wind. One of the achievements I’m most proud of is our role in introducing offshore wind to Southeast Asia. We worked closely with many partners across the ecosystem, but GWEC was one of the most active organisations pushing this agenda forward. A major milestone was in the Philippines, where the government announced that the fifth round of its green energy auctions, to take place in 2026, will include 3.3 gigawatts of offshore wind: the first such auction in Southeast Asia. We played an important role in shaping that auction design and process. In Viet Nam, we also supported the inclusion of a 6 gigawatts offshore wind target by 2035 in the national power development plan, which sent a strong signal about the country’s future energy direction. Beyond Southeast Asia, we’ve been active in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan since the outset – back in 2018 and 2019 – when offshore wind was first being introduced in the region.

Agora Training: You joined our Powering the Transition training in 2024 and the Electricity Market Design training in October last year. How did these experiences influence your work?

Liming Qiao: Both trainings were very valuable, but in different ways. The Powering the Transition training, especially the green hydrogen content, connected directly with my offshore wind work. We’ve been talking about Power-to-X and sector coupling for years, but the training helped put everything into a very clear and structured framework. What I really appreciated was that it cut through the hype around green hydrogen and helped participants understand the topic more realistically: what the different components are, what questions to ask and where green hydrogen actually makes sense. For anyone looking for a solid introduction to the technology, the training is very well designed. The Electricity Market Design training was also strong, especially given that it was one of the first iterations. It provided a helpful high-level overview of where electricity markets stand and how to think about market design challenges. My main feedback – which I shared during the course – was simply that this is a huge topic and really deserves more time, especially when it comes to lessons from fully liberalised markets like those in Europe or the United States. Overall, both trainings served their purpose very well, and I really enjoyed being part of them.

Agora Training: Congratulations on receiving the Climate Breakthrough Award 2025! You’re also launching a new initiative, the Future Energy Storage and System Integration Alliance (FESSIA). What’s the vision behind it?

Liming Qiao: Thank you! After nearly 18 years working in the wind industry, both onshore and offshore, I started to realise something quite fundamental: we’ve been very focused on pushing clean generation into the system, but the system itself isn’t ready yet. The more renewables we deploy, the clearer it becomes that without the right system design, flexibility and planning, we risk curtailment and wasted energy. That’s when it became obvious to me that my focus needed to shift from generation to the system side. Energy storage is the natural entry point. It’s a technology deployment challenge, which is something I know well from offshore wind. But storage is only part of the picture. Ultimately, we need to look at system integration, planning and optimisation for a future with very high shares of variable renewables. That’s why FESSIA has two parts in its name: energy storage and system integration. We’ll start with storage deployment, but the bigger goal is to engage with utilities, system operators and policymakers on how power systems need to evolve to truly support the energy transition.

Agora Training: As we look ahead, what lessons are you taking with you? What are your hopes for 2026 and beyond?

Liming Qiao: 2025 was a very special year for me. Now, I’m closing a chapter after almost two decades in a sector I know inside out, and at the same time starting something completely new. That comes with a mix of emotions: excitement, uncertainty, a bit of fear… and a lot of learning. Launching a new initiative from scratch is incredibly energising, but it also means stepping into unfamiliar territory and constantly adjusting your strategy. Still, the timing feels right. If you follow international discussions – from COPs to reports by the IEA and other organisations – there’s a clear shift towards energy storage and system integration. Even journalists I’ve spoken to say this topic has really taken off in the past year. That momentum is reassuring. It doesn’t remove the fear entirely, but it definitely confirms that this is the right direction. That makes the leap worthwhile.

Agora Training: Finally, as someone making waves in the energy transition space, what advice would you give to younger women entering the field with bold ideas and big ambitions?

Liming Qiao: The energy sector is still very male-dominated, even though things have improved with renewables and new energy technologies. Women still face many challenges, and feeling like you’re struggling is completely valid. My first piece of advice is: acknowledge that reality. And then don’t face it alone. Seek allies: other women, but also men who are supportive and recognise these obstacles. Building alliances is incredibly important. Recognition often comes much later, and many women do critical work behind the scenes for years without visibility. When I received the Climate Breakthrough Award, it felt like recognition not just for me, but for the many women who are driving change quietly, often from the second row. More women are now stepping into leadership roles and speaking up. That visibility matters. It helps others realise: it’s not just me, and it’s not in my head. Together, by supporting one another and using our voices, we can change the culture of this sector. We’re already seeing that shift begin.