Hainan Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning
Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Hainan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment
Hainan Provincial Department of Justice, Hainan Provincial Forestry Bureau
Notice on Standardizing the Record-filing Management of Land for Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects (Trial)
Qiongn Ziran Zi Gui [2025] No.4
Bureaus of Natural Resources and Planning, Development and Reform Commissions, Ecology and Environment Bureaus, Forestry Bureaus and Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureaus of all cities, counties and autonomous counties:
To further standardize land use management for photovoltaic power generation projects in our province, in accordance with the "Notice on Supporting the Development of Photovoltaic Power Generation Industry and Standardizing Land Use Management" (Document No.12 [2023] of the Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources) issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the General Office of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and the General Department of the National Energy Administration, and considering the actual conditions of our province, the following notice is hereby issued:
1. Planning leads to reasonable layout of projects
(1) Coordinated Layout of Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects. In accordance with the requirements of the "Notice on Accelerating the Development of Special Planning for Territorial Space" (Qiong Fu Ban Han [2024] No.35) issued by the General Office of Hainan Provincial People's Government, industry authorities at all levels shall formulate and complete special plans such as green energy development plans (including photovoltaic industry) as needed. Municipal and county governments should strengthen the coordination between photovoltaic industry-specific plans and territorial spatial planning and related plans, scientifically and rationally arrange land use for photovoltaic power generation projects, and incorporate spatial elements into the "One-Map" platform of Hainan Province's Territorial Spatial Information Platform. These spatial elements shall serve as the planning basis for reviewing and approving new land use, forest use, and grassland use for photovoltaic projects.
(2) Guiding the Rational Layout of Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects. Project sites must avoid farmland, ecological protection red lines, historical and cultural conservation zones, areas with special natural landscape value or cultural landmarks, public welfare forests, natural forest lands, coastal protective forests, and ancient tree protection zones. Where projects involve nature reserves, wetlands, other important wildlife habitats, migratory corridors, nationally protected wild plants, or locally protected wild plants, compliance with relevant regulations and policies for nature reserves, wetlands, and related provisions is mandatory. New or expanded photovoltaic projects must not occupy permanent basic farmland or Grade I protected forest lands.
2. Implement classified management of project land use
The land use for photovoltaic power generation projects includes photovoltaic array sites (including photovoltaic panels and collector lines laid through direct burial cables) and supporting facilities (including substations, operation management centers, collector lines, and on-site/off-site roads). The land scale shall be determined according to the "Land Use Control Indicators for Photovoltaic Power Station Engineering Projects" (TD/T1075-2023) issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources, and shall be managed through classified classification.
(1) Land Use for Photovoltaic Arrays. The land use for photovoltaic arrays must not alter surface topography, occupy cultivated land or permanent basic farmland, and requires only land use filing without needing approval as non-agricultural construction land. When utilizing existing construction land, no filing is required. The scale of photovoltaic array land use should be reasonably controlled to promote intensive land use, minimizing ecological and agricultural impacts. For forest land applications, the forest-photovoltaic complementary model must be adopted. Low-density shrubland coverage below 50% may be utilized, but tree felling, shrub cutting, or vegetation destruction is prohibited. Conversion of broadleaf forests, bamboo forests, or natural forests into shrublands for photovoltaic installations is strictly forbidden. For approved shrubland conversions, temporary forest land use permits must be obtained during construction. During operation, relevant parties shall sign agreements, and upon project completion, the forest land must be restored to its original condition or rehabilitated for forestry production and vegetation recovery.
(2) Supporting Facilities Land. The land designated for supporting facilities of photovoltaic power generation projects shall be managed as construction land, with approval procedures for construction land use processed in accordance with laws and regulations. Where cultivated land is occupied, the balance between occupation and compensation shall be implemented as required. Roads directly serving photovoltaic arrays located within or surrounding the array that meet photovoltaic land use standards may be classified as rural road land under relevant management provisions.
3. Standardize the filing of photovoltaic array land use
(1) Preparation of Land Composite Utilization Plans. The construction entity shall formulate a land composite utilization plan specifying photovoltaic array planting, aquaculture applications, forestry-photovoltaic complementarity models, soil and water conservation measures, and land restoration protocols upon project decommissioning. For newly constructed agricultural-photovoltaic complementary projects, photovoltaic modules must be installed at least 2 meters above ground level, with pile row spacing no less than 3.5 meters and row spacing no less than 2.5 meters. New fishery-photovoltaic complementary projects (excluding floating photovoltaic systems) require modules positioned 0.6 meters above water level. Forestry-photovoltaic complementary projects shall install photovoltaic supports with minimum points exceeding shrub heights by at least 1 meter. North-south spacing between photovoltaic panels in each row should be reasonably determined by local authorities based on site conditions. All projects must implement effective soil and water conservation measures to ensure shrub coverage and growth levels remain at least equivalent to pre-decommissioning conditions.
(2) Signing Land Lease Agreements. The photovoltaic array land may be acquired through lease agreements. Local township governments shall coordinate and organize project developers to sign land lease agreements with rural collective economic organizations (including land contractors) or state-owned land rights holders. The agreements shall specify the scope, area, duration, rent, payment methods, and other land use conditions, while defining the rights and obligations of all parties as well as liability for breach of contract.
(3) Ensure proper land use review and filing. The construction unit shall submit project approval documents (including project initiation approvals or enterprise investment project filing forms), land use boundary maps, lease agreements, land composite utilization plans, and relevant administrative permits to municipal/county natural resources and planning authorities for filing. These authorities will verify compliance with territorial spatial planning regulations and project requirements, while soliciting opinions from corresponding departments at the same level including development and reform, agriculture and rural affairs, ecological environment, forestry, and local township governments. Upon approval by relevant departments, the municipal/county authorities will issue written photovoltaic array land use filing approvals to the construction unit. Photovoltaic array projects without such filings are prohibited from commencing construction.
(4) Data Submission. After completing the land use filing for photovoltaic arrays as required, municipal and county-level natural resources and planning authorities shall complete the entry of project information and spatial element systems within 5 working days. During annual change surveys, the photovoltaic array's land occupation area shall be marked as a separate layer to serve as the fundamental basis for land use supervision.
4. Properly handle problems left over from history
Cities and counties must prudently address land use for historical legacy projects and manage land for existing photovoltaic facilities. The development and reform departments shall provide the natural resources and planning authorities with a list of approved or registered completed photovoltaic projects (including names, developers, and contact details). These authorities will collaborate with forestry departments to investigate and verify compliance under joint regulatory enforcement protocols. Any identified illegal land or forest use violations shall be promptly referred to comprehensive administrative law enforcement agencies for investigation and rectification. For projects meeting land or forest use requirements, developers will be guided to complete necessary filing procedures or obtain approvals in accordance with regulations. Comprehensive administrative law enforcement departments at city and county levels must strengthen interdepartmental coordination and consultation, enforcing legal penalties against violations in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
All cities and counties shall implement relevant work in accordance with the requirements of Document No.12 [2023] and Document No.43 [2024] issued by the Natural Resources Office, as well as this notice. Specific issues arising during implementation shall be interpreted by the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning in conjunction with relevant departments. Where national regulations on land use for photovoltaic power generation industries exist, such provisions shall prevail. This notice shall take effect on September 11,2025.
Hainan Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning
Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission
Hainan Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment
Hainan Provincial Department of Justice
Hainan Provincial Forestry Bureau
August 11,2025
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