On July 24, the Qinhuangdao Municipal Development and Reform Commission in Hebei Province publicly solicited opinions on the "Qinhuangdao Wind and Solar Power Development and Construction Management Measures (Trial)" (Draft for Comments).

The new rules apply to centrally managed wind and photovoltaic power projects within the city's administrative area. This includes distributed wind projects, small ground-mounted solar stations of 6 MW or less, and rooftop solar projects that exceed the capacity or voltage level definitions of distributed photovoltaics. Green electricity direct-connect supporting projects, the "Thousand Villages, Ten Thousand Villages Wind Power Action," and wind and solar power upgrade projects will be managed according to national and provincial policies.

Key Provisions on Bidding and Project List

Project investors must be selected through a public tender process for projects included in the annual competitive allocation list. Before an investor is determined, city and county departments cannot issue preliminary support letters or sign resource development, investment intention, or framework agreements to reserve resources for developers. Projects not on the annual competitive allocation list are prohibited from conducting a "double-blind" tendering process for investors.

Project Timeline and Construction Standards

From the date the provincial annual development plan is issued, projects must complete approval (or filing) within six months and begin construction and be included in statistics within 12 months. The criteria for substantive construction start are defined as: for wind power, completing the concrete pouring of the first wind turbine foundation; for solar, completing batch pile foundation construction or batch bracket installation, with construction of the booster station and internal collection lines starting simultaneously.

Existing Reserve Project Cleanup Mechanism

For existing reserve projects, a dynamic cleanup process is established. If a project has not obtained relevant approvals or shown any substantial construction progress within two years of being placed in the reserve, the local government will organize a review and cancel the project's resource allocation.

Details of the Management Measures

The full text of the draft measures outlines a comprehensive management framework. The principles guiding all projects are "planning-led, orderly implementation, fair competition, and high quality and efficiency." The process aims to regulate development order, and only after a project is on the provincial annual competitive allocation list can developers be selected through a unified, double-blind public tender via the municipal public resource trading platform.

Investor Determination Methods

Investor determination is split into two categories. Market-oriented self-determination applies to distributed photovoltaic projects on fixed building roofs, highway slopes, drainage channels, and within a company's own industrial park. For these, the enterprise is responsible for land use and coordinates, with county-level review and city-level selection before reporting to the provincial authority. The double-blind tender method applies to all centrally managed wind and solar projects. Bidders must be independent legal entities, joint ventures are not accepted, and winning companies must strictly follow all project timelines, from internal investment decision and approval to construction, grid connection, and full capacity operation. Speculative activities like stockpiling resources or secretly reselling project quotas are strictly prohibited.

Implementation and Penalties

Within 10 working days of an investor being determined, they must submit a written commencement commitment letter to the local county government. This letter will state that if the project is not approved within six months or has not started construction within 12 months of the provincial plan's issuance, all development quotas will be automatically forfeited. Before a project reaches full capacity, it is strictly forbidden to change the investor, project site, or total installed capacity without authorization. Splitting, merging, or overbuilding projects is also banned.

Project Cancellation Conditions

The Municipal Development and Reform Commission will request the provincial authority to cancel a project's provincial plan status and recover its development quotas under several conditions. This includes failure to complete approval within six months, failure to start construction within 12 months (excluding force majeure), an unjustified construction halt of over six months, unauthorized changes to the investor or project parameters, or if the project is deemed no longer viable. Projects that fail to reach full capacity on time, excluding reasons like force majeure or grid construction delays, will also be cancelled and their scale adjusted.

Grid Connection and Safety

Grid companies are required to establish efficient and fair connection services, processing applications for projects on the annual development plan quickly. They must also ensure the timely construction of transmission lines to match the power source's progress. The safety section of the measures stresses a "three musts" principle, requiring regular safety inspections at the enterprise, county, and municipal levels. Companies that refuse to rectify safety hazards, avoid inspections, or cause accidents will be banned from bidding on new energy projects in the city.