New Electricity Act raises many questions Do I have to install solar panels now?

Swiss voters have clearly said yes to the new Electricity Act. What does this mean now? blue News answers the most pressing questions.

What will change with the blanket decree?

It sets minimum targets for the expansion of electricity supply from wind and solar energy and hydropower. The bill also aims to curb per capita energy and electricity consumption and contains provisions for a hydropower reserve. Following the "yes" vote, it should come into force at the beginning of 2025. The ordinances were in the consultation process until recently.

The aim of the Electricity Act is to generate more electricity from domestic renewable sources, secure the electricity supply in winter and become less dependent on other countries.

Where does Switzerland get its electricity from today?

Just under 53% of the electricity produced in 2022 came from hydropower plants, around 3% from thermal power plants and 7.7% from various renewable energy sources. Nuclear power plants contributed a good 36% to Switzerland's electricity supply. By voting yes to the Energy Strategy 2050 in 2017, the Swiss electorate decided to strengthen the expansion of renewable energies and prohibit the construction of new nuclear power plants.

However, the existing nuclear power plants - the reactors in Beznau AG, Gösgen SO and Leibstadt AG - may continue to operate as long as they are safe. Reserve power plants powered by oil or gas as well as emergency power groups are to bridge any bottlenecks.

Is the supply secure?

International conflicts, dry spells, temporary supply bottlenecks, such as in the summer of 2022 in France, and the energy transition in Europe can jeopardize the secure and constant supply of electricity, especially in winter. Due to decarbonization, such as the rising number of electric cars and heat pumps, the demand for electricity produced without fossil fuels is also increasing elsewhere.

How will more Swiss electricity be produced?

The bill regulates the planning of large solar and wind power plants to produce more domestic electricity. It calls for an increase in capacity of at least 6 terawatt hours - of which at least 2 terawatt hours must be reliably available. In suitable areas, which the cantons must designate in consideration of nature and landscape conservation as well as agriculture, large solar panels and wind turbines should generally have priority. However, the population still has a say.

Large solar plants for more winter electricity are to be built primarily in the mountains. For 16 explicitly named hydropower projects, there will be planning simplifications with fewer opportunities to have a say compared to today because land use planning will no longer apply. As is already the case today, no new power generation plants may be built in biotopes of national importance or in water and migratory bird reserves.

Will there now be more solar panels on rooftops?

The Electricity Act also aims to promote the construction of small solar installations on roofs and facades, as this is where the greatest potential for the expansion of solar power production is seen. There will continue to be subsidies for solar installations on buildings and harmonized minimum tariffs for solar power fed into the grid. Local electricity communities can now be formed to trade in self-produced solar power in the neighborhood. The bill does not include a general obligation to equip your own home with solar panels.

Will solar panels on the roof now be mandatory?

The Electricity Act only makes solar panels mandatory for new buildings with 300 or more square meters of chargeable area. By comparison, the typical solar installation on a detached house has an area of less than 10 square meters.

The Greens want to extend the solar obligation. Signatures are to be collected from next Tuesday. The petition for a referendum demands that a solar installation be included in the planning of all new buildings and conversions. In the canton of Schaffhausen, a solar initiative was rejected on Sunday with just under 61 percent of votes against.

Are larger reserves now being created for the winter?

The operators of large hydropower plants are obliged to keep a reserve in their reservoirs for electricity production in winter. They are compensated for this.

Does the Electricity Act also force you to save energy?

Average energy consumption per capita per year must fall by 43 percent by 2035 compared to 2000 and by 53 percent by 2050. And electricity consumption per capita and year must fall by an average of 13 percent by 2035 and 5 percent by 2050 compared to 2000. Energy suppliers must support private individuals and companies in saving electricity, for example by choosing the most energy-efficient appliances possible.

Are you facing new charges?

The bill will not result in any new charges for consumers. The grid surcharge to promote electricity production from renewable energies remains at 2.3 centimes per kilowatt hour.

What is the acceleration decree?

The acceleration decree is currently pending in parliament. It is intended to give a boost to the planning and approval of large solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants so that the energy transition can gain momentum. Approval and appeal procedures for large plants are to be streamlined and the planning process for expanding the electricity grid simplified.

The acceleration decree is intended as a supplement to the energy package decree and as a follow-up solution to the "solar express" for more electricity in winter and the "wind express". The two "Express" proposals are temporary.

Could nuclear power plants be built again in the future?

The popular initiative "Anytime electricity for everyone (stop the blackout)", which was submitted in February 2024, calls for the ban on the construction of nuclear power plants decided in Energy Strategy 2050 to be lifted. It wants all environmentally and climate-friendly forms of electricity generation to be permitted. The committee includes representatives from the SVP, FDP, Center Party and business associations. The Federal Council has not yet taken a position on the issue.

Motions to lift the ban on nuclear power plants have so far failed in parliament. However, the Council of States recently demanded in a postulate that the Federal Council examine new nuclear power plants as a "possible scenario" to secure the electricity supply.

There are also two wind power initiatives. What do they want?

Signatures are currently being collected for two popular initiatives on wind power plants. One demands that large wind turbines should no longer be built in forests. And the second demands that the population of the affected region should be able to vote on wind power projects. It was launched by the Swiss Free Landscape Association, which has already fought against the energy decree. The requested provisions should be able to be applied retroactively. The initiators also take issue with the acceleration decree that Parliament is currently debating. With these amendments to the law, the federal government is encroaching on cantonal sovereignty and the decrees are undermining forest protection.

What does the "Every domestic kilowatt hour counts" initiative want?

Signatures are being collected for the popular initiative entitled "Every domestic and renewable kilowatt hour counts!". It aims to promote the expansion of renewable energies without neglecting sustainability. The committee is focusing on electricity production in winter.

The initiative was launched during the parliamentary deliberations on the Electricity Act as a plan B in case the Act fails. However, the committee is fundamentally of the opinion that the energy transition must be incorporated into the constitution. Swiss Small Hydro, a lobby group for small hydropower, is represented on the committee. Following the "yes" to the energy decree, it is considering requesting that the collection of signatures be discontinued. The collection period lasts until August 14, 2024.