Swiss permit rules leave vast agricultural solar potential untapped

Strict permitting rules are holding back the expansion of solar power on Swiss farmland, despite the technology’s potential to produce electricity equal to twice the country’s current consumption on suitable sites, SRF reports.

Switzerland’s largest agri-photovoltaic installation stands above a blueberry plantation in Lovatens, in the canton of Vaud. More than 5,000 solar panels sit on pillars about three metres high and cover 1.8 hectares. The structure allows farmer Olivier Pichonnat to harvest mechanically, without costly hand labour.

The panels also protect the blueberries from hail and provide shade that lowers temperatures by five to six degrees. The plants beneath them produce larger berries and more new shoots than unprotected bushes. During the hot summer of 2026, the installation saved the harvest.

A study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences estimates that agri-photovoltaic systems could theoretically generate around five times as much electricity as Switzerland currently uses. If the calculation is limited to sites within 300 metres of the existing power grid, the potential is still about twice current consumption. Yet less than 0.1 per cent of Swiss solar electricity currently comes from installations on agricultural land.

To obtain a permit in Switzerland, developers must show that an installation directly benefits agricultural production. Proving that can be difficult, partly because there are few comparison points, and permit procedures vary widely between cantons. In Germany, installations can be approved even if harvests fall by up to 30 per cent, provided income from crops and electricity combined makes the operation profitable. Switzerland also lacks nationwide coordination, with support and approval mainly handled by the cantons.

Financing presents another obstacle. Romande Energie says agri-photovoltaic systems cost 20 per cent more to build than comparable rooftop installations, but receive the same subsidy conditions. Farmers who cannot use the electricity themselves and must feed it into the public grid face fluctuating payments, making profitability difficult to predict. They often depend on local energy providers, as in Lovatens, to finance and operate the installations.