Solar installation in the Canton of ZugNotify within 20 days.

Permit: building notice to the commune

The Canton of Zug sets out the notification requirement in § 44a of the planning and building act (PBG). Sufficiently well-integrated solar systems on roofs in building and agricultural zones do not need a building permit (Art. 18a RPG). You notify them to the commune where the building stands with a building notice (Bauanzeige). If the authority does not respond within 20 days of receipt and does not require a regular procedure, the system can be built. We put the documents together.

A building permit is needed for systems on facades, on cultural and natural monuments of cantonal and national importance, on listed buildings and within a protected townscape zone. In protected townscape zones, systems on flat roofs are usually easier to approve than on pitched roofs. Compact, rectangular areas are preferred.

Subsidies in the Canton of Zug

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 cantonal 2026 energy subsidy programme does not directly subsidise the photovoltaic system. It includes a photovoltaic bonus linked to thermal insulation: if you insulate the roof or facade at the same time and install a full-coverage system there, you get an extra CHF 60 per square metre of insulated building element. Full coverage means that 50% of the insulated roof area is covered for roofs, and 20% for facades. You submit the application before building work starts. In addition, some communes have their own programmes, which we check when preparing the quote.

On tax: 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 how this applies in your case with the tax office.

Grid operator and power price

In the Canton of Zug, WWZ Energie AG supplies ten of the eleven communes at 21.9 ct./kWh. Steinhausen has its own utility at 22.2 ct. The cantonal median is 21.9 ct./kWh excluding VAT (household category H4, ElCom 2026), which is 5.8 ct. below 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 in the Canton of Zug

With a low power price, what pays off most is the power you use yourself. The share of electric cars in the Canton of Zug is 12%, a high figure. With an EV charger you charge with solar power during the day. A battery storage system also raises self-consumption.