The "flat to slopy" roof project

On Saturday night from 8:30pm to 9:30pm the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) urged Beijing to blackout for an hour, to raise awareness and save electricity. On March 27, the day before many businesses and households heeded their call and the advertisement campaign and turned off their lights, this piece appeared in the Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报):

Because of the renovation from flat to sloping roofs as part of the 'three year big change' beautification program ('三年大变样工程') in a neighborhood in Shijiazhang, Hebei, solar hot water heating panels on the residents' roof, installed by the residents themselves, have been forcibly removed. The government has already offered compensation, but the issue is still hotly debated over.

This year there has not been many forced removal of solar panels, but a netizen posted a local government notice dated March 20 on a local bbs forum, which read, “After the renovations are completed, solar panels will be strictly forbidden”.

Notice to residents

The notice continues:

According to the comprehensive demands of the 'three years of change' and the beautification of scenery in the area, solar panels are strictly forbidden on rooftops. The resident will take responsibility for the financial damage incurred if they do not comply with this rule. The panels that are already in place must be taken down within three days. Otherwise punishment according to damages to public facilities will be enforced.”

On March 21st, an Internet user in Shijiazhuang put up this notice from Shijiazhuang's Beiyuan neighbourhood.

When the Southern Metropolis Daily journalist interviewed the work team and its deputy group leader, he said that this year there will be no forced removal of solar panels, and the ones that are already there now can remain there.

But after the 'sloping roofs' renovation process ('平改坡') is finished, the installation of new solar panels will be forbidden.

The journalist also translated a comment from the Shijiazhuang forum on Baidu. The commenter, who lives in the area, touched on property rights protection law and on the 900 yuan compensation given for a solar installation that had cost him 5,000 yuan.

The article also went on to quote a Hebei Daily (河北日报) editorial from November last year, which said that the promotion of solar power is endorsed by the government for its energy efficiency, yet on the other hand the beautification of the cities means that these solar power energy panels are forcibly taken down. It’s a contradiction in terms.