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Limited seats available, first come first served. Let us journey together toward the sustainable appointment! [Click to register] (Source: Solar Headlines) Solar Headlines has learned that on October 12, the Development and Reform Bureau of Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, issued a notice on accelerating the promotion of "Four Capabilities" access retrofitting for distributed photovoltaic power generation projects across the city.
The document clearly states that starting from the date of issuance of this document, all new distributed photovoltaic power generation projects must use equipment that meets the "Four Capabilities" technical specifications. When project investors submit grid connection access applications to power grid enterprises, they must meet the "Four Capabilities" conditions, otherwise grid connection will not be granted.
For industrial and commercial, as well as non-natural person household distributed photovoltaic power generation projects that have already been put into operation with an installed capacity of 400 kilowatts or above, the "Four Capabilities" access retrofit should in principle be completed before December 15, 2026, achieving photovoltaic "Four Capabilities" regulation capability.
For industrial and commercial, as well as non-natural person household distributed photovoltaic power generation projects that have already been put into operation with an installed capacity below 400 kilowatts, the "Four Capabilities" access retrofit should in principle be completed before December 15, 2027, achieving photovoltaic "Four Capabilities" regulation capability.
For natural person household distributed photovoltaic power generation projects that have already been put into operation, the "Four Capabilities" access retrofit shall be implemented as needed based on actual power grid operation conditions.
Details are as follows:
Notice on Accelerating the Promotion of "Four Capabilities" Access Retrofitting for Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects Across the City
To all county (city, district) Development and Reform Bureaus, Shaoguan Power Supply Bureau, and all relevant power generation enterprises:
According to the requirements of the "Measures for the Development and Construction Management of Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation" (Guo Neng Fa Xin Neng Gui [2025] No. 7), new distributed photovoltaic power generation projects must achieve "observable, measurable, adjustable, and controllable" (hereinafter referred to as "Four Capabilities"). In order to further improve the grid connection regulation level of distributed photovoltaic power generation in our city and standardize the retrofit implementation of existing photovoltaic projects, the relevant work regarding "Four Capabilities" access retrofitting for distributed photovoltaic power generation projects across the city is hereby notified as follows:
I. Overall Requirements
In order to strictly implement the national regulations on distributed photovoltaic construction management, new distributed photovoltaic power generation projects must meet the "Four Capabilities" technical requirements. Projects that do not meet the standards will not be granted grid connection access by power grid enterprises. Existing distributed photovoltaic power generation projects shall implement "Four Capabilities" access retrofitting in an orderly manner according to the principle of classified measures and phased advancement, and achieve "Four Capabilities" regulation capability on schedule.
II. Work Arrangements
(1) New Projects. Starting from the date of issuance of this document, all new distributed photovoltaic power generation projects must use equipment that meets the "Four Capabilities" technical specifications. When project investors submit grid connection access applications to power grid enterprises, they must meet the "Four Capabilities" conditions, otherwise grid connection will not be granted.
(2) Existing Projects (installed capacity of 400 kilowatts or above). For industrial and commercial, as well as non-natural person household distributed photovoltaic power generation projects that have already been put into operation with an installed capacity of 400 kilowatts or above, the "Four Capabilities" access retrofit should in principle be completed before December 15, 2026, achieving photovoltaic "Four Capabilities" regulation capability.
(3) Existing Projects (installed capacity below 400 kilowatts). For industrial and commercial, as well as non-natural person household distributed photovoltaic power generation projects that have already been put into operation with an installed capacity below 400 kilowatts, the "Four Capabilities" access retrofit should in principle be completed before December 15, 2027, achieving photovoltaic "Four Capabilities" regulation capability.
(4) Natural Person Household Existing Projects. For natural person household distributed photovoltaic power generation projects that have already been put into operation, the "Four Capabilities" access retrofit shall be implemented as needed based on actual power grid operation conditions.
(5) Regarding the Identification of Project Investors and Investment Interface. According to the provisions of Articles 29 and 33 of the "Measures for the Development and Construction Management of Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation" (Guo Neng Fa Xin Neng Gui [2025] No. 7), user-side distributed photovoltaic supporting projects shall be invested and constructed by project investors, while public power grid renovation shall be invested and constructed by power grid enterprises. All parties shall bear the responsibilities for intelligent retrofitting and operation and maintenance according to the property rights demarcation point. The identification of project investors and investment interface is clarified as follows:
First, for new and existing distributed photovoltaic projects, the project investors shall, in principle, invest in and construct "adjustable and controllable" related equipment within the property rights demarcation point, including photovoltaic circuit breakers, protocol conversion units, branch devices, grid connection point switches, edge gateways, distribution network security protection terminals, etc.
Second, in order to steadily and orderly advance the retrofitting of existing projects and reduce the retrofit pressure on early existing low-voltage projects, a transitional policy is established: for existing public transformer low-voltage distributed photovoltaic projects (including non-natural person household and general industrial and commercial) that submitted installation applications before July 20, 2026, the "adjustable and controllable" equipment within their property rights demarcation point shall be invested in and constructed by power grid enterprises; for projects that submit installation applications after July 20, 2026, the relevant equipment shall be invested in and constructed by users themselves.
III. Work Requirements
(1) Municipal Development and Reform Bureau. Coordinate the overall work of "Four Capabilities" access retrofitting for distributed photovoltaic across the city, and conduct supervision over counties (cities, districts) where policy implementation is inadequate and retrofit progress is lagging.
(2) County (City, District) Development and Reform Bureaus. Together with local power supply units, carry out policy publicity and interpretation, coordinate and resolve difficulties and bottlenecks in the retrofit implementation process, and urge and guide project investors to actively cooperate in fulfilling retrofit tasks.
(3) Power Grid Enterprises. Comprehensively survey and sort out the ledger of existing distributed photovoltaic projects across the city, establish a "Four Capabilities" retrofit project list, compile retrofit implementation plans, clarify retrofit timing and regional scope, and regularly report retrofit progress to the Municipal Development and Reform Bureau. Carry out regular inspections of distributed photovoltaic "Four Capabilities" capabilities, regularly organize full-process regulation testing, promptly investigate hidden dangers in grid-side and user-side systems, hardware, and communication channels, urge implementation of corrections, and ensure that photovoltaic regulation capabilities remain online and available.
(4) Operation and Maintenance Management Requirements. Project investors are responsible for the daily operation and maintenance of "Four Capabilities" equipment within their own property rights scope, ensuring stable and unobstructed communication channels, and cooperating with power grid enterprises in conducting regulation testing.
Hereby notified.
Shaoguan City Development and Reform Bureau
September 30, 2026
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