Switzerland’s Pronovo will start the country’s maiden C&I solar auction on April 17, 2025, with 3 bidding dates of May 1, August 1, and November 1
Auction will be split into 2 categories, HEIV and GMP, both with 50 MW volume each
Remuneration will be paid quarterly on actual electricity production that must be fed into the grid
Pronovo in Switzerland has unveiled the guidelines for the country’s maiden round of commercial and industrial (C&I) solar auctions for 2025, starting from April 17, 2025.
Funding will be available under 2 categories for minimum system sizes of 150 kW or more. Power generated will be fed into the grid and not used for self-consumption. For both these categories, the auction volume is 50 MW each.
Solar PV systems must be ready for construction at the time of the auction but not be under construction before the contract is awarded, stated Pronovo, which is the Swiss government’s enforcement agency for the federal subsidy program for electricity production from renewable energies.
Pronovo has capped tariffs for the high one-off remuneration (HEIV) auction category at CHF 600/kW, covering up to 60% of the investment costs. For the floating market premium (GMP) auction category, the subsidy is based on the electricity fed in cents/kWh over a fixed remuneration period of 20 years. The ceiling tariff for the GMP auction is CHF 0.09/kWh.
Interested applicants will be allowed to apply for only one of these categories by paying a participation fee of CHF 300/bid in advance. Bids submitted must be in local currency.
The offered compensation rate, plus any bonuses, will be paid every quarter post-commissioning, based on actual electricity production. It is calculated as the difference between the remuneration rate and the reference market price published by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), plus a price for the guarantees of origin that remain with the plant operator and can be freely traded.
If the reference market price is higher than the remuneration rate, the plant operator must repay the difference to Pronovo.
“In the months of December to March, the excess part (reference market price – remuneration rate) is reduced by 10% in favor of the plant operator,” according to the guidelines.
Pronovo expects a total of 3 bidding dates for 2025, namely May 1, August 1, and November 1.
The Swiss Federal Council recently introduced amendments to the country’s electricity act with specific incentives and a focus on storage (see Switzerland’s Electricity Act Amendments To Boost Solar PV).
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