The Department of Energy (DOE) of the Philippines has agreed on updated policy guidelines for solar systems designed entirely for self-consumption.

A series of changes signed off by the department last week include the exemption of plug-and-play micro-solar systems from securing building permits or certificates of compliance. The change covers micro-systems up to 1 kW in size and micro-inverters up to 0.8 kW.

While larger zero-export solar systems will still be required to secure building permits, the update also exempts them from securing a certificate of compliance from the country’s Energy Regulatory Commission.

The changes mean consumers installing micro-solar systems or grid-connected zero-export solar systems must now only submit a standard notification form to their local distribution utility.

DOE’s update also prohibits utilities from imposing pre-installation clearances, technical permits or inspection fees in order to prevent administrative delays. While utilities can still undertake distribution impact studies for their own planning purposes, the DOE says such studies cannot delay or block an end-user’s installation.

The department says the update aims to “promote a conducive environment for end-users by streamlining administrative and technical requirements, facilitating own-use solar installations, and promoting non-discriminatory procedures.”

It adds that it compliments the Philippines’ existing net-metering framework, a separate mechanism for solar systems which are permitted to export surplus energy to the grid. The net-metering framework has also gone through a series of amendments in recent months, including the acceleration of permitting procedures.

The latest guidelines arrive as the Philippines becomes one of the world’s leading imports for solar panels as it deals with energy prices that have rocketed to among the highest in Southeast Asia. The country imported 4 GW of Chinese solar panels over the first four months of this year. As of July, a further 3 GW were heading to the country.

The DOE adds that the change also supports national targets to source 35% of the country’s energy mix from renewable sources by 2030, increasing to 50% by 2040.