The capacity of the photovoltaics market in Switzerland is around 30MW and this figure only amounts to a 0.04% of the total Swiss electricity production with around 4000 new installations being carried out each year.

The Swiss Federal Government http://www.admin.ch/br/index.html?lang=en has put in place an aggressive feed-in tariff scheme in order to encourage the take up of solar energy systems by the Swiss consumers as well as offering favourable tax incentives to Solar manufacturers considering setting up or relocating to the area.

The carbon foot print issue has been recognised by the Swiss Government as of paramount importance and coupled with the increasing world wide energy prices the decision has been made to increase the targets of new installations.

Because of the climate in Switzerland solar panels systems must be installed anywhere where sufficient light falls. To receive an optimal yield the solar panel installation should be mounted on a south facing surface, with an approximate incline of 30 ° with a deviation to the south west .

There should not be any shadowing by trees or any tall buildings or structures and a capacity of 1kWp will need an area of solar panels installed of approximately 10 square metres. These rules apply to installations in any country but for countries such as Switzerland it is vitally important.

The average cost of a solar panel installation in Switzerland is around EUR 25,000 for an average sized dwelling but the feed-in tariff which is amongst the highest in Europe can mean that any investment is recovered within 15 years.

The Feed-in tariff devised by the Swiss Government is a full system differentiated by size, technology and application and is similar to the ones operated in Germany, France and Spain. It pays a renewable energy generator for each kWh of electricity which is generated. The contract is for between 20 and 25 years but this is entirely dependant on the technology that is installed.

The 25 year option is unique in that it is the longest contract that is available in the EU apart from Spain and the payments that are available compare with France which is recognised as the top paying feed-in tariff in the EU. For rooftop installed systems which are less than 10kW in size the tariffs are 0.75 SWF/kWh and for integrated systems of less than 10 kW in size the tariffs are 0.90 SWF/kWh

More information on the Swiss FIT scheme can be found at The Swiss Office Of Energy http://www.bfe.admin.ch/energie/00559/index.html?lang=en