Solar installation in the Canton of SchwyzNotify via eBau.

Permit: notification via eBau

Under Art. 18a of the Spatial Planning Act, sufficiently well-integrated solar systems on roofs in building and agricultural zones do not need a building permit. The Canton of Schwyz implements this through its planning and building act (PBG), including § 75a. You notify the system online at ebau-sz.ch as a «building notification for a minor project». The notification must be submitted at least 20 days before building work starts. If the commune does not object within 20 days, we can start building.

You must attach, among other things, a site plan with a fire brigade plan, a roof plan, a roof section and the technical data of the modules. The notification procedure (Meldeverfahren) applies to the roofs of main buildings and of ancillary buildings such as garages or carports. In industrial and commercial zones and in zones for public buildings, it also applies to facade systems. For facade systems on buildings over 11 metres high, a fire protection concept is needed.

The notification procedure does not apply to protected buildings, such as buildings in the cantonal inventory of protected buildings, monuments of national or regional importance and ISOS-A townscapes. In those cases a permit under the simplified or the regular procedure is needed. Fire protection is a separate matter: in the Canton of Schwyz, even a system that only needs notification needs a fire protection permit. We prepare the documents.

Subsidies in the Canton of Schwyz

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

The Canton of Schwyz does not directly subsidise photovoltaic systems. Its subsidy programmes cover the building envelope and heating systems. Some communes have their own programmes, and the commune of Schwyz supports battery storage for photovoltaic systems, for example. We check what applies in your commune and apply for the contributions.

For tax purposes, 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 tax office.

Grid operator and power price

In the Canton of Schwyz, several utilities supply the communes: EWS (7 communes, 28.2 ct./kWh), ebs Energie (6 communes, 26.3 ct.), EW Höfe (25.8 ct.), EKZ Einsiedeln, energieUri and EW Lachen. The cantonal median is 28.2 ct./kWh excluding VAT (household category H4, ElCom 2026), 0.5 ct. above the Swiss median of 27.7 ct. The range between utilities is large: the highest price is 36.9 ct., the lowest 25.1 ct.

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

Roofs on slopes and at altitude

From Freienbach on Lake Zurich to Einsiedeln, locations and altitudes differ considerably. At higher altitudes, snow load and roof pitch play a bigger role. At the site visit we check the structural capacity and the roof build-up, and we plan the module fixings and snow guards accordingly.