Kathy Liang

I’m Kathy, a Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. I’ve worked on grid decarbonization from several sides of the table: resource procurement under greenhouse gas compliance obligations at an electric utility, grid research using machine learning and optimization, regulatory analysis for state agencies and municipalities, and ratepayer advocacy with a California nonprofit.

Seeing the same problem from each of those seats taught me that robust, data-driven analysis is only the first step. Lasting solutions also need people who understand the public interest, what regulators can approve, and how industry puts plans into practice, and who can build support across all three for a grid that is more reliable, affordable, and climate resilient. That’s the kind of practitioner I want to be.

After I graduate in May 2027, I’m looking for full-time roles that combine data-driven analysis, regulation, and stakeholder engagement, whether at a utility, consultancy, regulator, independent power producer, or transmission developer.

Selected work

Developing a Utility's First Virtual Power Plant Valuation Framework

Helped a public power utility decide how to launch its first virtual power plant, and built the 20-year benefit-cost model used to make the case to leadership.

Accelerating Interstate Transmission for California

A client report for the California Energy Commission on why interstate lines take a decade or more to permit, and which reforms could shorten that.

Financing Long-Duration Storage in California

A 20-year project finance model testing which policies get a 500 MW / 50 GWh iron-air battery to financial close.

Greenhouse Gas Compliance Strategy for a Public Power Utility

Helped a public power utility move from reactive to proactive carbon compliance under Washington's cap-and-invest program, from shaping state rules to allowance auction strategy.

Current research

At the Belfer Center, I’m working with Professor Henry Lee on the public opposition that is delaying data center buildout. Much of that opposition stems from mistrust of the confidentiality that blurs a project’s water and energy use. I’m tracing where that information stays out of public view, from site selection through decades of operation, and analyzing how disclosure reforms could rebuild trust and better engage residents in local water and energy planning.

If you’re hiring for

• A utility or ISO/RTO: see utility & market operations, including virtual power plant valuation and carbon compliance strategy.
• An energy consultancy: see grid & financial modeling, including project finance, siting optimization, and interconnection queue modeling.
• A regulator or policy office: see policy & regulatory analysis and my writing samples.

My full background is on my CV.