GovttosupportsolarpowerindustryTheChinesegovernmentwillsupporttheconnectionofphotovoltaicsolarpowerproducerstothenationalgridwithfavorablepolicies,inabidtoexpandthedomesticmarketandhelptheindustrygetthroughtoughtimes,anofficialhassaid."AdocumentonhowStateGridwillsupportChina'sPVsolarindustryhasbeenhandedtothecentralgovernmentandiswaitingapproval,"saidMengXiangan,deputydirectoroftheChinaRenewableEnergySociety.StateGridCorp,China'slargestState-ownedutilitycompany,isexpectedtoallowlocalgridcompaniesatcityleveltoapprovesolarpowerplantswithinstalledcapacitiesoflessthan10,000kilowattseachtobeconnectedtothegrid.Themoveisseenas"veryencouraging"newsbyMeng.StateGridalsoplanstonotchargesolarpowercompaniesforintegrationwiththegrid,whichusuallycostsmillionsofyuan,andtosimplifytheprocess,accordingtothedocument."TheobstaclesthatcompaniesfaceinordertobeconnectedtothenationalgridarethebiggestproblemforthePVsolarpowerindustry,aswellasmanyothernewenergyindustries,"hesaid."Thenewplanwillhelpsolvetheproblem,anditshowsthecentralgovernment'sdeterminationtosupportthedevelopmentofthesolarindustrybysolvingthegrid-connectionissue."However,hesaidthatitisstillhardtopredictwhentheplanwillgetapprovedandbeinplace.AnotherseniorofficialattheNationalEnergyAdministration,whodeclinedtobenamed,toldChinaDailythatagroupofofficialsandanalystswasformedtospecificallyworktodrawupplansandhelpguidethecountry'ssolarindustry.Theadministrationwillcarryoutaseriesofpoliciestoexpandthedomesticmarket,enhanceindustrymergersandreorganizations,andpromoteinnovation.Lastmonth,theadministrationannouncedaplantodevelopdistributedsolarpowerplantsinalargescale,whichencourageslocalgovernmentstoproposenewsolarpowerprojects.Inwesternareasofthecountry,wheretherearerichsolarresources,itisespeciallyhardtogetconnectedtothegrid."Distributedsolarpowergenerationwillallowtheindustrytodevelop,aslongasthegrid-connectionproblemscanbesolved,"Mengsaid."That'swhyStateGrid'snewpolicyisveryimportant."Accordingtothenewplan,China'sinst