Government appeal in solar panel case fails

Court of Appeal upholds finding that cut in solar feed-in tariff was "legally flawed"

 

The Court of Appeal has upheld a challenge to the government's move to halve the payments made to households with solar panels, which it says are unsustainable. Solar businesses and campaigners had warned thousands of jobs could be lost as a result of the move.

The decision will lead to widespread confusion over what the tariff level is. The previous tariff was just over 43p per Kilowatt-hour generated, and the new tariff of 21p per kilowatt-hour had been expected to come into effect from 1st April. The government has put a contingency plan in place which would see the current 43p tariff remain in place until the start of March.

However, it is also considering appealing to the Supreme Court against the latest ruling, potentially allowing the department to return to the cut-off date of 12th December.

A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FITs. We are now considering our options."

They added that it meant there were "no guarantees" on any tariff consumers were offered after 12th December.

For further details see : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16721328

 

Date Added: 25th January 2012