Switzerland is implementing a new winter electricity bonus for solar installations larger than 100 kW that generate more than 500 kWh/kW of electricity in the winter half-year from October 1 to March 31. The country’s Federal Council has also increased the target for electricity generated by solar photovoltaics to 18.7 TWh by 2030.
The Federal Council of Switzerland is introducing a winter electricity bonus for photovoltaic installations put into operation from January 1, 2026.
The mechanism will apply to photovoltaic systems of 100 kW or more. A explanatory report The revision explains that the bonus will be performance-based, linked to the specific electricity yield of the solar installation in the winter half-year from October 1 to March 31.
To qualify, installations must exceed a threshold of 500 kWh/kW generated during the winter half-year, as the bonus is calculated by subtracting 500 kWh/kW from the total output, to ensure that the bonus is only awarded to significantly higher winter electricity production compared to an average solar system.
“This calculation method is intended to ensure that only those installations with a significantly higher specific winter electricity yield compared to an average installation on the Swiss Plateau, which has values between 250 and 300 kWh/kW, benefit from the winter electricity bonus,” the explanatory report said.
The report adds that the bonus will be calculated as a one-off payment based on the specific electricity output in winter, averaged over three winter half-years, and will be awarded to installations with and without on-site consumption.
“The specific winter electricity yield of more than 500 kWh/kW capacity represents the specific winter electricity surplus of the system. For each kWh/kW specific winter electricity surplus, a bonus of CHF 3.50/kW installed capacity is granted as a one-off payment for systems without on-site consumption,” the report explains.
It adds that for installations supported through a sliding market premium, the CHF 3.50/kW will be spread over the 20-year compensation period, resulting in an amount of CHF 0.175/kW per year, which would be multiplied by the installation’s winter electricity surplus.
The new mechanism will replace the Swiss height bonus for solar photovoltaics, which has been in force since 2023. The altitude bonus related to solar energy systems at least 1,500 meters above sea level that produced at least 500 kWh/kW annually during the six months between October 1 and March 31. It covered up to 60% of the eligible investment costs of qualified projects.
The Federal Council has also approved new interim targets for the production of renewable electricity by the end of this decade, while Switzerland aims to achieve a target of 35 TWh of renewable energy sources, excluding hydropower, by 2035, and 45 TWh by 2050, as set out in the Federal Law on a Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energy Sources.
The new target sets a target of achieving 23 TWh of electricity production from renewable energy sources by 2030, of which 18.7 TWh should come from photovoltaics.
According to the National Survey Report of PV Power Applications in Switzerland, published in October by the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Program (IEA-PVPS), solar energy produced 5.96 TWh of electricity in Switzerland at the end of 2024, accounting for 10.36% of the country’s electricity consumption in 2024.
The report added that Switzerland’s cumulative solar capacity stood at 8.17 GW at the end of last year, after 1,799 MW had been deployed in 2024.
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