Solar installation in the Canton of SchaffhausenHigh price, low hurdles.

Permit: notification to the commune

Since 1 January 2019, the Canton of Schaffhausen has had rules that give solar systems preferential treatment under permit law (Art. 18a RPG, Art. 54 para. 4 Baugesetz). Sufficiently well-integrated systems on roofs and facades in building and agricultural zones do not need a building permit. They are notified to the responsible building authority of the commune where the building stands.

The notification form must be submitted to the commune 30 days before building work starts, with a site plan and a depiction of the roof plan and eaves-side facade. Notifications of solar systems exempt from a permit are free of charge. We prepare everything.

A building permit is always needed on cultural and natural monuments of cantonal or national importance. Special rules also apply to areas, building groups and individual elements in protected townscapes of national importance, and to townscapes of cantonal importance. On the canton’s geoportal, the procedure map shows which procedure applies to your building. In borderline cases, we clarify the individual case with the heritage protection office.

Subsidies in the Canton of Schaffhausen

The federal government pays the one-off payment (Einmalvergütung, EIV) through Pronovo. Since 1 April 2025 there has been no base amount. Add-on systems under 30 kWp receive CHF 360 per kWp, integrated systems CHF 400 per kWp.

The Canton of Schaffhausen’s 2026 energy subsidy programme does not directly support photovoltaic systems, but it does subsidise stationary battery storage for grid-connected solar power systems: a one-off CHF 1,000, at most 25% of the investment. The conditions are at least 10 kWh of usable capacity, a new system and installation by a specialist. The application must be submitted before installation starts. We file it for you.

On taxes: under federal law (Art. 9 para. 3 StHG), investments in renewable energy on existing buildings are treated like maintenance costs, as far as they are deductible for the direct federal tax. You clarify the details with the cantonal tax office.

Grid operator and power price

In the Canton of Schaffhausen, the Elektrizitätswerk des Kantons Schaffhausen (EKS) supplies 25 of the 26 communes at 32.2 ct./kWh. SH POWER adds the city of Schaffhausen at 30.2 ct. The cantonal median is 32.2 ct./kWh excluding VAT (household category H4, ElCom 2026), which is 4.5 ct. above the Swiss median of 27.7 ct.

The grid operator pays for the electricity you feed in, and the rate differs from one utility to the next. In the quote we calculate with the tariff of your utility.

Self-consumption pays off

Where power is expensive, every kilowatt hour you use yourself saves more. A battery storage system shifts midday power into the evening, and a heat pump uses it for heating and hot water. In the canton, 54% of residential buildings are still heated with fossil fuels. When you replace your heating system, we plan both together.