Solar installation in the Canton of ThurgauChecked with the solar map.

Permit: solar map and notification

In September 2025, the Canton of Thurgau significantly relaxed the permit requirement for solar systems. Around 60% fewer buildings have needed a permit since then, leaving about 10% of the roughly 110,000 buildings. The solar map in ThurGIS shows whether your roof is one of them.

The canton distinguishes three cases. In the building zone, sufficiently well-integrated systems under 35 m² need neither notification nor a permit, as long as no natural or cultural monument of cantonal or national importance is affected. From 35 m², a notification to the political commune is enough if the system is sufficiently well integrated under Art. 32a of the Spatial Planning Ordinance. A building permit is needed in ISOS areas with conservation objective A, for protected individual objects and for objects with a protection procedure under way. In village centres and protection zones, a permit is no longer needed. We clarify your case with the map and file the notification.

Subsidies in the Canton of Thurgau

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

The Canton of Thurgau does not directly subsidise photovoltaic systems. The 2026 energy subsidy programme includes a contribution for battery storage: a one-off CHF 1,000, at most 25% of the investment, for at least 10 kWh of usable capacity. The application must be submitted before installation starts. According to the programme, the quota of 700 approvals for 2026 has been reached, and further applications go on a waiting list. Depending on the commune, there are additional programmes, which we check when preparing the quote.

In its information sheet on property maintenance, the Thurgau tax office allows photovoltaic systems on your own roof to be deducted for existing buildings. For new builds, or close to one, within five years of completion, the installation is not deductible.

Grid operator and power price

The Canton of Thurgau has many small grid operators. Examples are the cooperative EW Romanshorn (24.9 ct./kWh), LST Energie (33.2 ct.), Arbon Energie (29.3 ct.) and EW Sirnach (29.4 ct.). The cantonal median is 29.4 ct./kWh excluding VAT (household category H4, ElCom 2026), which is 1.7 ct. above the Swiss median of 27.7 ct. The differences between utilities are large, as the table on this page shows.

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.

Agriculture and single-family homes

Thurgau has a lot of roof area on farms and single-family homes, and 17% of the roof potential is already in use. If you run a business or a farm, you often use a lot of power during the day and make good use of your own solar power. We plan the system, battery storage and EV charger as one package.