Cantonal Council ZG Solar installations on listed buildings divide opinion
With a postulate, the FDP parliamentary group wanted to reduce bureaucratic hurdles for the installation of photovoltaic systems on listed buildings. The government and cantonal council saw no need for action. Nevertheless, the agenda item raised fundamental questions in the council on Thursday.
04.07.2024, 14:10
SDA
The installation of photovoltaic systems on listed buildings is associated with difficulties and bureaucratic hurdles, wrote the FDP parliamentary group in the postulate. The requirements of monument protection restricted the use of modern technologies and prevented the maximum potential.
With a postulate, it wanted to create clear guidelines and options for the installation of photovoltaic systems using current technology with corresponding design options on listed buildings.
The government recommended declaring the postulate to be substantial and writing it off as closed. The Council agreed by 63 votes to 1. The government council argued that the efforts to create clear guidelines and options for the installation of photovoltaic systems on listed buildings had already been implemented with the revision of the existing information sheet.
Debate on principles
The FDP parliamentary group was "delighted" that the postulate had already borne fruit and that the existing leaflet had been revised, said Michael Arnonld (FDP). "Our aim was to enable a more liberal approach, particularly with regard to photovoltaic systems in listed buildings," he said. It should also be the task of the Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments not only to look at the past and historic buildings, but also to look to the future and take current technical developments into account when granting permits and providing advice.
Adrian Risi said on behalf of the SVP parliamentary group that the speedy updating of the information sheet speaks for itself and shows that they want to show customers how it works. The Center Group said that the Government Council had created a "practicable basis" with the leaflet.
The GLP parliamentary group found it "astonishing" that a postulate was actually needed to amend a leaflet, as Klemens Iten (GLP) said. Monument preservation is always a field of tension with various interests of the owner, the municipality, the canton and, last but not least, the energy transition. However, each property is weighed up on a case-by-case basis, said Iten.
The ALG parliamentary group wanted "much more support for PV systems on other existing infrastructure and on already sealed surfaces, as Ivo Egger (ALG) said. He asked the group: "Is the supposed potential of listed buildings really that relevant and useful in terms of council efficiency?"
Patrick Röösli (center) said that it was unacceptable for a historic building to be sacrificed in its materiality, colorfulness and holistic character as an important and identity-forming cultural witness on the altar of a supposedly modern and environmentally friendly energy supply.
He "urgently" advised building owners not to overstretch the claim to solar systems on listed, inventoried buildings. He felt that the focus should be placed on the other buildings, around 98 percent of which are not listed.
Listed buildings should also make a contribution
On behalf of the SP parliamentary group, Beat Iten said that it would probably be very difficult to create more binding regulations for the implementation of such systems in listed buildings than already exist in the attached information sheet. It was of the opinion that listed buildings should also make their contribution to the energy transition.
Government councillor Andreas Hostettler (FDP) shared this view. Nevertheless, he was surprised at how many buildings with "ideal PV conditions" had no installations. "It would just be a shame if we were to slap these modules on old town roofs without taking a closer look," he said. After all, it is precisely these listed roof landscapes that make up an old town. The preservation of historical monuments has to manage the balancing act between different interests.
