Invalid signatures halt Swiss vote to ease solar power plant rules

A Swiss popular initiative aimed at loosening planning rules on solar power plants has failed due to a high number of invalid signatures. The 18-month deadline for collecting 100,000 valid signatures has now passed.

The construction of solar power installations in Switzerland is often blocked by heritage conservation bodies or townscape committees.

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The federal popular initiative “For solar installations exempt from planning permission” had not been submitted with the required number of signatures by October 8, 2026, the Federal Chancellery announced on Friday in the Federal Gazette. The deadline for collecting signatures had therefore expired.

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The initiative committee did not include any nationally recognised figures. The Federal Gazette lists seven private individuals from an interest group. The committee is based in Basel-Country.

The association’s website states that 117,500 people are said to have signed the petition. During the verification process in July and August, it emerged that almost 20,000 signatures were invalid, said Roland Weiss, one of the initiators of the initiative, in response to an enquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency.

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“Our lawyer is currently investigating the circumstances.” It is currently being clarified how such a high number of invalid signatures could have arisen despite the involvement of signature-collection firms.

The initiative, which has now failed, called for a new constitutional article to be enshrined for solar installations on buildings and structures.

For such installations, no planning permission would have been required either within or outside protected townscapes and landscapes.

Exceptions would have been possible for installations on cultural monuments of national or cantonal significance, as well as on historic sites. In such cases, a planning permission could have been granted subject to certain conditions.

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+ How we produce news in English
Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.