Zurich introduced a new policy that promotes renewable energy adoption: rooftops with a surface area of more than 300 square meters will have to be fully equipped with PVs!.
What are Switzerland's new energy regulations?
Switzerland is expanding rules for rooftop solar, energy storage, and energy communities to expand self-consumption and ease pressure on the grid. The new regulations, set to take effect in 2026, introduce updated tariffs, encourage battery storage, and allow local electricity trading.
“The new regulations encourage the temporary storage of solar production peaks, which helps relieve the electricity grids,” said Swissolar. Switzerland installed approximately 1.78 GW of new PV capacity in 2024, according to provisional figures from Swissolar.
What is the future of electricity storage in Switzerland?
One important pillar of this strategy is the further development of electricity storage capacity in Switzerland. In the next years, three large-scale pumped hydro storage power plants will be connected to the grid. The first, the Limmern pumped storage plant (1 GW), should become operational in 2016.
The Swiss Federal Council has adopted a second set of ordinances to implement the Federal Act on a Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energy Sources. The new regulations, set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, cover energy communities and minimum remuneration.
Further, the introduction of a cost-covering fee for feed-in to the electricity grid, in order to subsidise new renewable energy sources in Switzerland, disadvantaged traditional hydro electricity producers. As a result, high prices during peak load times dropped, which substantially lowered the revenue stream of pumped storage plants.
The regulations encourage self-consumption and the storage of solar production peaks to ease pressure on the electricity grid. They also set new remuneration tariffs based on a realistic share of self-consumption, with PV system operators encouraged to expand self-consumption through storage batteries or electromobility.