The company car park is the second roof area of the business – and since 2025 the federal government is specifically subsidising it: Systems from 100 kW on a permanent, previously unroofed car park area receive a car park bonus of CHF 250 per kW in addition to the one-off feed-in incentive. 100 kW corresponds as a guideline value to 40 to 50 roofed parking spaces. The roofing is more expensive than the roof system because the supporting structure is added, and it needs a building permit – but it delivers power exactly where it is needed during the day: into the business and into the charging stations of the employees. The Canton of Bern requires the car park solar system for new buildings and extensions since 2026; in the Canton of Zurich the new proposal currently only affects roofs. (As of: September 2026)
Key points in brief
- Car park bonus of the federal government: CHF 250 per kW for systems from 100 kW on permanent, previously unroofed car park areas – in addition to the one-off feed-in incentive (Pronovo, since 2025).
- Guideline value: A parking space carries around 2 to 2.5 kWp; the 100 kW limit is therefore around 40 to 50 parking spaces.
- The roofing costs more than the roof system because foundations and supporting structure are added – the largest cost block is the construction, not the modules.
- The carport is a building structure: Building permit instead of notification procedure, with boundary distances, design requirements and snow load proof.
- The strongest lever is the combination with charging infrastructure: Employees charge during the day when the system produces – self-consumption without storage.
Why the car park is the second roof area
A commercial business has two large, sealed areas: the hall roof and the car park in front of it. The roof is mostly the first step – how a system on the industrial roof is planned is stated there. The car park is the second, and it has a structural advantage over the roof: The power is generated where the vehicles are parked. A business that electrifies its vehicle fleet and the vehicles of its employees has a consumer in the car park that charges exactly during the day – when the system produces. What needs a storage on the residential roof arises here naturally.
Added to this is the political direction. Switzerland has little free area, and car parks are already sealed; therefore federal government and cantons rely on dual use. The federal government has been subsidising car park systems with their own bonus since 2025, the Canton of Bern obliges new and extended car parks with sufficient irradiation to have a solar system since 1 January 2026. Whoever builds a new car park or renovates one today is better off planning the roofing at the same time.
Subsidies: Car park bonus CHF 250 per kW from 100 kW
The one-off feed-in incentive of the federal government applies to the car park system just as to any other: around CHF 360 per kWp for the system part up to 30 kWp and around CHF 300 per kWp above that, plus the basic contribution (EnFV Annex 2.1, As of August 2026). From 100 kW the application runs as GREIV and can be submitted before construction.
Added to this since 2025 is the car park bonus: CHF 250 per kW installed capacity, under three conditions (Pronovo, As of September 2026):
- the system has at least 100 kW capacity;
- it stands on a permanent car park area – not a temporary parking space;
- the area was previously unroofed – the bonus rewards the new dual use, not the replacement of an existing roof.
For a 120 kW system over around 50 parking spaces this results in an order of magnitude of CHF 30,000 car park bonus in addition to the one-off feed-in incentive of around CHF 38,000 – together therefore towards CHF 68,000. For systems from 150 kW without self-consumption there is also the route via the PV auctions, in which car park roofings also receive a surcharge. The current provisions of Pronovo are authoritative.
How many parking spaces are 100 kW? A parking space measures around 12 to 15 m²; with around 5 m² module area per kWp it carries 2 to 2.5 kWp. The 100 kW limit is therefore as a guideline value at 40 to 50 roofed parking spaces – a medium-sized company car park. Smaller car parks receive the normal one-off feed-in incentive, but no bonus; then self-consumption alone decides whether the roofing pays off.
What does the roofing cost?
Honestly: more than the roof system, and the difference is the construction. On the roof the building carries the modules; in the car park a supporting structure of steel or wood with foundations must first be built, and it must withstand snow, wind and the collision of a delivery van. This block – foundations, supports, beams, drainage – is the largest cost share of the car park system, not the modules. How the costs of a carport are composed is explained in the article on solar carport costs; we deliberately do not state a flat price per parking space because soil conditions, span and design requirements shift it by a multiple.
Three adjusting screws determine the price:
| Adjusting screw | Cheaper | More expensive |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | Standard steel system, row car park with even grid | Special construction, wood, design requirements, single supports |
| Subsurface | Load-bearing soil, point foundations | Poor building ground, lines in the ground, strip foundations |
| Roof covering | Modules as roof skin with drainage in the system | Separate roof skin plus modules above |
What nevertheless carries the bill: Firstly the subsidies – one-off feed-in incentive plus car park bonus cover an order of magnitude of CHF 68,000 for a 120 kW system. Secondly self-consumption: A business with daytime consumption and charging infrastructure uses the power largely itself instead of feeding it in for the reference market price. Thirdly the secondary benefit that is in no profitability calculation: roofed parking spaces, snow-free vehicles, a visible sign to customers and workforce. The quote is binding after inspection and building ground clarification.
Building permit, statics, design: The carport is a building structure
Here the car park differs fundamentally from the roof. While sufficiently adapted roof systems run in the notification procedure, the roofing is a building structure and generally needs a building permit – with boundary and street distances, design requirements of the municipality, possibly objection periods of the neighbourhood and, in commercial zones, the requirements of the design plan. The requirements are set by the municipality and canton; the information from the building administration is binding.
Practically this means: Plan time and respect the sequence – first the permit, then order; the GREIV application before construction. For the statics, the proof according to SIA 261 with the snow load of the location applies; unlike with the hall roof, the collision protection at the supports is added for the carport. Whoever builds the car park anew or renovates it anyway saves twice: Foundations, lines for the charging stations and the drainage are created in one go.
Technically the points of the solar carport at the residential house apply on a large scale: The modules often form the roof skin, then the system must take over the tightness and it must be clarified who is responsible for it. The inclination is flat; this costs some annual yield compared to the ideal position, similar to the flat roof, but remains well usable. Bifacial modules additionally use the light that is reflected from the light car park surface – a real additional yield for carports.
Charging infrastructure: The car park as a consumer
The actual reason for building the roofing mostly stands underneath it. A business that electrifies its company car parks has a load during the day that exactly matches the production profile of the system: Employees arrive in the morning, plug in and drive home in the evening with a full battery. With load management at the same house connection, the available capacity is distributed to the vehicles, and the solar power flows first into the charging stations, then into the business, and only the rest into the grid.
Two points belong in the planning: the billing of the charging power – employees, company vehicles, customers – and the connection capacity. A car park with 50 charging points needs more capacity without load management than most house connections provide; with load management and solar power from the carport roof, this becomes a project that the existing connection often carries. Where peak loads nevertheless become a problem, a commercial storage can cap them.
Solar obligation on car parks: Bern has it, Zurich not yet
The Canton of Bern requires a solar system for new and extended car parks since 1 January 2026, provided the irradiation of the ground area reaches at least 1,000 kWh per m² and year – there is no fixed minimum number of parking spaces, the criterion is the sun. This is the first cantonal car park obligation in Switzerland and a signal of where the regulation is heading.
In the Canton of Zurich, the proposal of the Government Council from January 2026 currently only affects roofs over 300 m²; car parks are not included. What the federal government demands since 2025 and what is discussed in Zurich is stated in the article on the solar obligation in Switzerland. For businesses in the Zurich area this means: The car park system is voluntary today – and planned voluntarily with a car park bonus and own planning it is more economical than later under an obligation.
The car park roofing is rarely the first enquiry with us – it comes when the business electrifies the vehicle fleet or redesigns the car park anyway. Both are the right moments: Foundations, lines and drainage are then created once instead of twice. We have not yet built an own carport large-scale project; charging infrastructure with load management and roof systems on commercial and large buildings are part of our everyday life. What we clarify first with every car park enquiry: the building permit and the connection capacity – the two points that decide on the schedule and system size before a module is ordered.
Frequently asked questions
How high is the car park bonus for a solar system?
CHF 250 per kW installed capacity, in addition to the one-off feed-in incentive, for systems from 100 kW on a permanent, previously unroofed car park area (Pronovo, since 2025). With 120 kW this is an order of magnitude of CHF 30,000. The current provisions of Pronovo are authoritative.
How many parking spaces are needed for 100 kW?
As a guideline value 40 to 50 parking spaces: A parking space of 12 to 15 m² carries around 2 to 2.5 kWp. For smaller car parks there is the normal one-off feed-in incentive, but no car park bonus.
What does a solar carport for a company cost?
More than the roof system because foundations and supporting structure are added – the construction is the largest cost block. We deliberately do not name a flat price per parking space: Building ground, span and design requirements shift it by a multiple. The quote is binding after inspection and building ground clarification.
Does the car park roofing need a building permit?
Generally yes – the carport is a building structure, unlike the roof system in the notification procedure. This includes boundary and street distances, design requirements and a static proof with snow load. The information from the building administration of your municipality is binding.
Is the roofing worthwhile without charging stations?
It can be, if the business consumes the power itself during the day and the system over 100 kW receives the car park bonus. But the strongest case is the combination: Charging stations with load management make the car park a consumer that charges exactly when the system produces.
Is there a solar obligation for car parks in the Canton of Zurich?
No. The Canton of Bern requires it since 2026 for new and extended car parks with sufficient irradiation; the Zurich proposal from January 2026 only affects roofs over 300 m². In the Zurich area the car park system is voluntary today – and planned with a bonus it is more economical than later under an obligation.
Free initial consultation
Car park plan and electricity bill are sufficient for the first framework.
Send us the situation plan of the car park and the last annual statement – we calculate the system size, car park bonus, self-consumption and charging infrastructure through as a guideline quote. Direct specialist company from Zurich, no intermediary.
Prefer to talk? +41 78 830 83 35
Commercial and industrial roof: indicative quote from a specialist company →
Swissolar-certified specialist company · ESTI installation authorisation (Art. 14 NIV) · in Zurich since 2017 · over 150 systems completed · a personal answer from the specialist company, no call centre
Sources: Car park bonus and one-off feed-in incentive according to EnFV Annex 2.1 / Pronovo «Innovations one-off remuneration photovoltaics» (As of September 2026); Auction surcharges according to SFOE/Pronovo (As of July 2026); Solar obligation Canton of Bern according to the Directorate of Economic Affairs, Energy and Environment of the Canton of Bern (in force since 1.1.2026); Canton of Zurich: Media release of the Government Council of 6 January 2026; Parking space guideline values from around 5 m² module area per kWp (own layout rule); Empirical values from charging infrastructure and commercial projects of ecoEn GmbH. As of September 2026.
Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Author: ecoEn editorial team
