"The new approach to solar power is to maximize self-consumption"

For several quarters, new mechanisms have offered interesting prospects to transform the photovoltaic market in Switzerland. Virtual own-consumption groupings (RCPv), introduced in 2025, as well as Local electric communities (CEL), which came into force in 2026, now make it possible to share locally produced electricity at the scale of a neighborhood, or even a municipality.

While this decentralization of production naturally raises many challenges for a sector historically organized around centralized infrastructures, what about on the ground? How are these new solar communities being received by the market? And do they generate real interest among the Swiss population?

So many questions that we try to answer with the help of Bryan Umana, cofounder and COO of Solarsplit, a Neuchâtel-born startup. Since its creation, the startup has offered a free mobile application that not only supports individuals in the procedures necessary to install photovoltaic panels, but also facilitates the creation and financing of CEL. Interview

Do you receive information requests from users of the app about CEL and RCPv?

Curiosity and interest in these models have clearly strengthened since the RCPv came into force in January 2025, then the CEL in January 2026. And it’s interesting: both owners of single-family homes and owners of rental apartment buildings are starting to take a significant interest. These models are therefore not reserved for large complexes.

We bring up the subject spontaneously with our users, because local sharing of electricity changes the financial equation of a solar installation and has now become an integral part of our services, notably with SOLARSPLIT Community Connect. In addition, we are now listed on lokalerstrom.ch as a service provider for RCPv and CEL.

According to feedback from your partners, is Switzerland ready to integrate these new models?

The legal framework is in place — for RCPv since January 2025 and for CEL since January 2026 — and, good news, in the vast majority of situations it is already possible to set up this type of solar community today. But to properly understand where we stand, one must distinguish two aspects.

On one side, there is the network part, managed by the distribution grid operator (DNO): it reads consumptions and virtually sums the grouping’s flows thanks to smart meters. This infrastructure is being rolled out and presents a huge advantage: if the participant is already equipped with a smart meter — which is becoming the new standard — no additional equipment needs to be installed at their premises. There is therefore no additional hardware investment required, unlike the old physical grouping, which required the installation of private meters. On this front, Switzerland is ready.

On the other side, there is the whole organizational and administrative side: planning the grouping, simulating the gains for each participant, identifying neighboring buildings that can be connected to the same network point and determining in which configuration, then ensuring day-to-day internal billing, settlements and the management of changes — arrival of a new tenant or consumer, departure of a participant, etc. It is on this side that the solutions available remain very poor today. And that is precisely one of our reasons for being: we take care of the planning, simulations and all recurring administration so that the owner has nothing to manage themselves.

In summary, the metering infrastructure is ready on the network side and does not involve any hardware cost for the customer. Our role is to make the whole organizational part as simple as a subscription. People now talk less about total self-sufficiency than about optimized local self-consumption: the grid remains the foundation of it all.

Decentralization is clearly the most interesting direction, with millions of roofs, but also batteries, electric cars and heat pumps.

Is the logic of injecting electricity back into the grid to make an installation profitable still present in the minds of your users?

Less and less, at least as the main logic. With a minimal remuneration for injection of 6 ct./kWh, versus a retail rate around 28 to 30 ct./kWh, reselling one’s surplus to the grid is no longer very attractive. The new logic is to maximize self-consumption and to share the surplus locally with one’s neighbors, at a price advantageous to both parties. Thus we move from “I inject and I am paid” to “I consume and I share on site.”

How might these communities transform your sector?

They shift the value from the individual installation toward a logic of local and collective network. The main challenge lies in the administrative complexity related to managing a grouping. For us, it’s a structural opportunity: sharing creates recurring needs in terms of management, settlement and billing that did not exist before. It also improves the profitability of installations, which helps to energize the entire installation market.

What could be the consequences of CEL and RCPv on the price of electricity?

At the participant level, the effect is concrete: the consumer benefits from a reduced bill by buying local solar electricity at a price corresponding to about 70% of the “normal” rate, while the producer better values their surplus than with the 6 ct./kWh received for injection to the grid. The CEL also makes it possible to benefit from a reduction in network transmission fees of between 20% and 40%, depending on the voltage levels concerned, in accordance with art. 19h OApEl.

On a more macroeconomic scale, increased local consumption helps to relieve the network. However, given the volumes involved, its impact on the overall market price remains marginal at this stage. The real change plays out at the local level: it lies in a fairer sharing of the value of the solar electricity produced on site.

Is this decentralized vision of solar energy the best solution for the future of photovoltaics in Switzerland?

Decentralization is clearly the most interesting direction, with millions of roofs, but also batteries, electric cars and heat pumps that are becoming additional sources of flexibility and controllable loads. CEL and RCPv constitute a cornerstone of this evolution: they offer the legal framework finally allowing local consumption of the electricity produced on site.

Is it therefore the only formula for the future? No, but it is certainly one of the most promising for the residential and rental sectors, particularly when combined with storage and intelligent energy management. The future will likely be hybrid: it will rely on the combination of local communities, flexibility and intelligent monitoring of production and consumption, rather than on a single miracle solution.

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