Farms are among the best solar locations in Switzerland: large, often ideally pitched farm-building roofs, and real daytime consumption – plus, for roofs without self-consumption, the high one-off feed-in incentive (HEIV) with full export. As a guideline, a fully installed system costs around CHF 1,400–1,700 per kWp at 30 kWp and CHF 1,100–1,400 per kWp above 100 kWp, before incentives. On top of that comes marketing via local electricity communities, and the classic planning issue: the asbestos question with old Eternit roofing. Anyone solarising the farm starts with the roofs – open land is its own, narrower chapter. (As of September 2026)
Key points in brief
- Farm buildings offer roof areas that single-family homeowners can only dream of – often several hundred square metres.
- Guideline prices: 30 kWp CHF 42,000–51,000, 100 kWp CHF 110,000–140,000, fully installed and before incentives; the price per kWp falls with size.
- For roofs without consumption behind them, the HEIV is the key: a higher incentive rate in exchange for 20 years of full export.
- Farms with self-consumption (cooling, milking, drying), on the other hand, are usually better off with the normal EIV and self-consumption.
- Since 2026, the LEG has opened up a new channel: selling farm power to the neighbourhood.
- Planning classic number one: the asbestos question with old Eternit roofs – clarify first, then plan.
Why are farms such good solar locations?
Because of a combination that rarely comes together elsewhere: area, pitch and consumption. Barns, stables and sheds carry large, contiguous roof areas – often ideally south-facing or oriented as generous east-west areas, without dormers and chimneys that break up the layout plan. A single farm-building roof often has room for more capacity than ten single-family homes.
On top of that, active farms have consumption at the right time: milk cooling, milking technology, hay ventilation and drying run during the day – exactly when the system is producing. This overlap of production and consumption is what homeowners have to painstakingly create with controls and storage; on many farms, it's simply there.
And finally, expandability: where the stable roof is fitted today, the shed can follow tomorrow – farms grow their solar capacity in stages, and the infrastructure (connection, inverter concept) can be designed for that.
What does the system on the farm cost – and what does it deliver?
Farm roofs are large, and that brings down the price per kilowatt: scaffolding, planning, the connection application and registration are a one-off cost, whether 30 or 100 kWp go on the roof.
| System size | Guideline price per kWp (fully installed, without battery) | Order of magnitude of investment | Typical roof |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~30 kWp | CHF 1,400–1,700 | CHF 42,000–51,000 | Shed, small stable |
| ~60 kWp | around CHF 1,500 and below | CHF 75,000–90,000 | Loose housing barn, barn |
| ~100 kWp | CHF 1,100–1,400 | CHF 110,000–140,000 | large farm building, storage hall |
Guideline prices according to published Swiss market data, as of July 2026, fully installed, before incentives. The individual quote after the site visit is binding. Fibre-cement renovation, lightning protection and grid reinforcement are separate items.
The one-off feed-in incentive is deducted from this: currently around CHF 360 per kWp up to 30 kWp and around CHF 300 per kWp above that, plus a base contribution (as of August 2026) – for 100 kWp, in the order of CHF 30,000; correspondingly more on the HEIV route. Pronovo's current rates apply.
What the system delivers depends on the type of farm – more precisely, on how much electricity the farm consumes itself during the day. The following ranges are empirical values for systems sized to daytime consumption:
| Type of farm | Self-consumption without battery (range) | What drives daytime consumption |
|---|---|---|
| Dairy farm with milking robot | 40–60 % | Milk cooling, milking technology, vacuum pump around the clock |
| Fruit and vegetable growing with cold storage | 60–80 % | Cooling load rises with the sun – see cold store guide |
| Poultry and pig farming | 40–60 % | Ventilation, feeding, heating of the barns |
| Arable farming, hay drying | 20–40 % | Ventilation and drying in summer, otherwise little |
| Barn without consumption | under 20% | Full export with HEIV is the way to go here |
Empirical values as of September 2026. The farm's actual consumption is decisive; the grid operator provides the load profile (quarter-hourly values).
A worked example, without obligation: a dairy farm in the Zurich Oberland draws 60,000 kWh a year. The loose housing barn has room for 60 kWp, which deliver around 1,000 to 1,100 kWh per kWp on the Swiss Plateau – about 60,000 kWh. At 50 percent self-consumption, 30,000 kWh stay on the farm and, at a purchase price of 22 Rp./kWh, replace electricity worth in the order of CHF 6,600 a year; the other 30,000 kWh go into the grid at around 4 to 6 Rp./kWh, CHF 1,200 to 1,800. After deducting the one-off feed-in incentive of around CHF 20,000, the investment comes to in the order of CHF 55,000 to 70,000. Depending on the tariff, consumption and how electricity prices develop, the payback period for such farms is typically in the range of seven to ten years – anyone who can shift milk cooling and milking times into the solar hours lands at the lower end. The calculation for businesses without agriculture is in the guide for businesses and SMEs.
Which incentive route fits: EIV with self-consumption, or HEIV?
This is the central fork in farm planning – and it comes down to a single question: Is there relevant consumption behind the roof?
With self-consumption: the normal EIV. Farms with ongoing consumers use the electricity themselves first and feed the rest into the grid – like any home, just bigger. This comes with the regular one-off feed-in incentive; for systems from 100 kW, the GREIV procedure applies, with the option of submitting the application before construction – a real planning advantage for investments of this size.
Without self-consumption: the HEIV. For the classic barn roof with no consumption behind it, there's the special route of the high one-off feed-in incentive: a higher incentive rate, in return for the obligation of full export for 20 years – all production goes into the grid. This is the tailored model for return-focused roofs; the commitment should, however, be taken seriously: anyone who later wants to build up self-consumption has to repay it proportionally. There's a notable exception for the LEG – more on that shortly.
| Situation | Incentive route | Logic |
|---|---|---|
| Active farm with daytime consumption | EIV + self-consumption | Using electricity yourself beats feeding it in |
| Barn roof without consumption | HEIV (full export, 20 yrs) | higher rate for pure production |
| Large project from 100 kW | GREIV — application before construction possible | Planning certainty before investment |
Simplified overview, as of July 2026. Pronovo's current provisions apply; the fork belongs BEFORE implementation.
The order matters: the HEIV question must be clarified before implementation – re-categorising afterwards is laborious. And viability needs to be calculated for both routes: a farm with even moderate self-consumption is often better off with the normal route than with the higher HEIV rate.
What about LEG, Eternit and open land?
Three topics that come up on almost every farm:
The LEG as a new sales channel. Since 2026, producers have been allowed to sell their electricity to the neighbourhood via the public grid – the local electricity community turns the farm with the big roof into the neighbourhood's supplier. Doubly interesting for farms: remuneration is above the plain feed-in tariff, and – the exception mentioned above – participation in an LEG is permitted even for HEIV systems, because electricity sold there doesn't count as self-consumption. For full-export roofs near a village, that's real room for manoeuvre.
The Eternit question. Many farm buildings have corrugated sheets from the decades when asbestos was used – and here the iron rule from the article PV on Eternit roofs applies: clarify the asbestos question first. No reputable company mounts on asbestos-containing sheets; the route goes via roof renovation, which can often be combined elegantly with the solar system – one set of scaffolding, new roof, new system.
Open land. Modules in the meadow are a different chapter with tight spatial-planning guardrails – the article on Agri-PV covers the dual-use models. The rule of thumb remains: fill the roofs first, then talk about open land.
Don't forget amid all this: the usual procedures also apply on the farm – notification or a permit depending on the situation, the connection application to the utility (with the question of connection capacity for large systems!), and the tax treatment, which has its own quirks for a farm business and belongs with your fiduciary.
Where does it pay off most? The cantons of the region compared
The federal government's public installation register shows a clear pattern: per capita, the rural cantons lead. Where farms, farm buildings and commercial halls shape the built landscape, there's more of your own roof area per person – and shorter decision paths than in condominium ownership.
| Canton | Systems | Watts per capita | Rank (26 cantons) | Ø system (kWp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appenzell Innerrhoden | 1’259 | 1’884 | 1 | 25,3 |
| Thurgau | 16’931 | 1’674 | 3 | 29,9 |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden | 3’835 | 1’510 | 4 | 22,5 |
| St. Gallen | 26’329 | 1’360 | 7 | 28,1 |
| Aargau | 25’869 | 1’019 | 12 | 29,3 |
| Schaffhausen | 3’344 | 966 | 16 | 26,0 |
| Schwyz | 5’027 | 919 | 19 | 31,1 |
| Zurich | 32’829 | 566 | 24 | 28,1 |
| Switzerland | 331’271 | 946 | – | 26,1 |
Our own analysis of the SFOE register «Electricity production plants», data as of August 2026, population FSO 2025. All 26 cantons and the municipalities of the region: Photovoltaics Switzerland in numbers.
Two takeaways for farms in our service area: in Thurgau, St. Gallen and both Appenzells, the farm system has long been standard – grid operators know the procedures, neighbours have practical experience, and anyone there who still has an empty barn roof is in the minority. In the Canton of Zurich, by contrast, the per-capita total ranks only 24th of 26; farms in the Weinland, Unterland, Oberland and Knonaueramt regions make up a large share of the still-unused roof area there. For them, the calculation above holds unchanged – and the lead of the eastern Swiss farms shows that it pays off.
Farm projects almost always start with us at the same moment: looking at a large, empty south-facing roof and asking why nothing's on it yet. The answer is often one of two – «because of the Eternit» or «full export didn't use to pay off». Both answers are out of date in 2026: roof renovation with an integrated system is a fully calculated standard package, and between HEIV and LEG marketing, pure production has a calculation that can work out again. On a farm in Schneisingen AG, we realised a 36.45 kWp system with 90 modules in 2024 as a self-consumption community with private metering – farm power that stays on the farm and in the homes. What we tell every farm: the incentive fork (EIV or HEIV) and the connection question with the utility belong at the start – they determine system size and concept, not the other way round.
Frequently asked questions
Does the system still pay off if my farm uses little electricity?
Yes, via the full-export route: the HEIV pays a higher rate in return for all production going into the grid – built exactly for low-consumption barn roofs. LEG marketing can also improve the numbers. A comparison calculation before implementation shows which route works better.
Can I have modules mounted on my old Eternit roof?
If the sheets contain asbestos: no – then the route goes via professional remediation, ideally combined with the system in one project. With asbestos-free fibre cement, the condition of the roof decides. The assessment belongs at the start of every farm project; details in the Eternit guide.
Do I need a building permit for the system on the barn?
For reasonably adapted roof systems, the simplified procedure generally applies in the agricultural zone too – notification before construction starts. Special cases (townscape, protected objects, open land) go through a building application. Clarifying the zone and procedure is part of serious planning.
What happens if I want self-consumption after a few years on HEIV after all?
Then the repayment obligation applies: the HEIV commits you to 20 years of full export, and an early switch to self-consumption costs a proportional amount of incentive money. LEG participation is exempt. That's why the farm's consumption forecast – including future developments! – belongs in the choice of incentive route.
Is my grid connection enough for a large roof system?
The grid operator checks this in the connection application – for remote farms with long supply lines, connection capacity really can be the limiting factor and can trigger reinforcement costs. This assessment belongs right at the start of the project, because it also determines which system size makes economic sense.
What does a 100 kWp system on the barn cost?
As a guideline, CHF 1,100–1,400 per kWp, fully installed, so in the order of CHF 110,000 to 140,000 before incentives (as of July 2026). The federal one-off feed-in incentive covers around CHF 30,000 of that, more on the HEIV route. Fibre-cement renovation, lightning protection and any grid reinforcement come as separate items; the individual quote is binding.
How much self-consumption does a dairy farm achieve?
Experience shows 40 to 60 percent without storage: milk cooling, milking technology and the vacuum pump run daily, some of it during solar hours. Anyone who can shift milk tank cooling and cleaning to midday lands at the upper end. Farms with cold storage for fruit or vegetables reach 60 to 80 percent. The farm's load profile is decisive.
Free initial consultation
Big roof, clear plan.
Incentive fork EIV/HEIV, Eternit assessment, connection check, LEG potential: we plan farm systems correctly from the first fork onwards – and calculate the routes honestly against each other. An electricity bill and roof dimensions are enough for an initial estimate.
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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: Pronovo (EIV/HEIV provisions, EnFV Annex 2.1, as of August 2026), energy legislation (LEG), spatial planning law (agricultural zone), guideline costs according to published Swiss market data (July 2026), SFOE register «Electricity production plants» (data as of August 2026, our own analysis), empirical values from ecoEn GmbH's farm projects (including Schneisingen AG 2024). As of September 2026.
Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Author: ecoEn editorial team
