Background
#Geneva’s solar obligation applies to sites with annual electricity consumption above 0.2 GWh: suitable roof areas must be equipped with a photovoltaic system by 2030.
The canton calls this category “moyens consommateurs”; it is not automatically the same as “grands consommateurs”. Self-consumption has priority, and the Office cantonal de l'énergie (OCEN) may assess an exemption or replacement measure where impossibility is demonstrated. Planning depends on Art. 14A LEn, Art. 12N REn, the definition of suitable roof areas and the procedure through OAC.
For your roof
New build: size the system right
For solar obligations what counts is output per area. With your address or postcode we size output, yield and cost for your new build.
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What roof and planning dictate
#Site consumption determines whether the obligation applies: Geneva’s obligation page states annual consumption above 0.2 GWh, or above 200,000 kWh. The relevant figure is the site’s electricity use, not the planned PV capacity. At exactly 0.2 GWh, the page heading is broader than its body text, so the borderline case should be clarified with OCEN.
The canton sets the deadline: suitable roof areas must be equipped with photovoltaics by 2030. The official page does not name a specific day in 2030. For an existing commercial or industrial site, roof work, grid connection, permits and PV construction must therefore be scheduled around that target.
“Suitable” does not mean every unoccupied roof area. Geneva’s definition excludes areas for technical equipment and safety strips, required access and maintenance routes, mandatory setbacks, permanently and significantly shaded areas, and areas without sufficient load-bearing capacity, watertightness or structural integrity.
Solar power should primarily be used on site. Geneva’s obligation page names electrical or thermal storage and control that links energy demand with production as possible tools. This makes the load profile, load management and intended use more important than simply maximising module area.
An exemption requires evidence: where implementation is demonstrably impossible, an exemption may be requested and replacement measures may be required. The request and supporting documents — for example on technical impossibility or economic disproportionality — should be sent to OCEN by post or email as early as possible, and OCEN decides the case.
Roof geometry affects the permit route. On pitched roofs, the conditions include no more than 20 cm of projection perpendicular to the roof, no projection beyond the roof in plan view, a non-reflective finish and a grouped arrangement. On flat roofs, the system may rise no more than 1 m above the upper roof edge, must not be visible from below at a 45-degree viewing angle and must be non-reflective; deviations make the OAC procedure relevant.
The process in six steps
#Tick off for your project
Document site consumption
compile electricity bills, load-profile data or internal consumption records for the individual Geneva site and check whether annual use exceeds 0.2 GWh or 200,000 kWh. Do not combine several buildings or metering points into one site without checking the applicable definition.
Survey the suitable roof area
mark technical equipment, safety strips, access, maintenance routes and mandatory setbacks. Add shading, structural-capacity and watertightness checks so that the remaining mandatory area can be traced under Geneva’s official definition.
Check heritage and installation conditions
compare roof form, visibility, reflectivity and grouping with Geneva’s solar-installation conditions. If the building lies in an ISOS A village zone or has high heritage value, include OAC and, where relevant, the heritage office in the assessment.
Define the energy and system concept
size the PV system on the suitable area and establish how much solar power will be used directly. Assess electrical storage, thermal use or control only as project-specific options; Geneva’s obligation page does not prescribe a universal storage size.
Prepare an exemption or replacement measure
if implementation on the suitable area is technically or economically impossible, document the specific reasons, calculations and alternatives. Send the request with complete evidence to OCEN as early as possible and wait for its assessment.
Coordinate the OAC route and construction start
for this obligation case, Geneva’s dedicated page generally states that an opening-of-worksite notice is filed with OAC 14 days before work begins through e-démarches. The general OAC page states 30 days for worksite notices; because the procedural context differs, confirm the deadline or OAC instruction shown for the specific e-démarches case before work starts.
Checked for your roof, not just read up on
New build: size the system right
For solar obligations what counts is output per area. With your address or postcode we size output, yield and cost for your new build.
Free and non-binding · no unsolicited calls
Rather talk directly? +41 78 615 90 58
Frequently asked questions
#Sources
#The responsible authorities are decisive. Always verify binding details – amounts, deadlines and conditions – for your specific property against the current status of the respective authority.