High Court throws out government solar appeal

The High Court has thrown out the government’s right to appeal in the escalating row over cuts to feed-in-tariffs, following a judges December ruling that the move was “illegal”.

On 21 December, the High Court ruled against the government’s plans to cut solar tariff payments, following a legal challenge by environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth and two solar companies, Solarcentury and HomeSun.

Fits are payments made to households, communities and businesses that generate green electricity through solar panels. The Department of Energy and Climate Change wants to reduce the tariffs for domestic solar PV schemes from 43.3p per kilowatt hour to 21p.

According to Eco Environments, the double whammy of the High Court ruling that the reduction in Fits was “legally flawed”, together with a scathing parliamentary report that labelled the process “clumsy”, has further rocked what they described as one of the brightest sectors in the UK economy.

Today’s ruling means that any Solar PV installations installed, commissioned and registered between 12 December last year and 3 March this year will receive the higher Fits rate of 43.3p for the next 25 years.

Customers who register on or after 3 March will qualify for the higher rate until 1 April when it will drop to 21p.

The full consultation on the Fit rates for solar and other technologies is due for release on February 9, which should give a clear picture of the rates from April this year and beyond.

David Hunt, a director with leading renewable energy company Eco Environments, believes this is a “fantastic result” for consumers who have either gone ahead with an installation since 12 December or are keen to do so now.

He said: “We would also hope that the consultation will confirm whether or not homes considering an installation from April will need an Energy Performance Certificate of Grade C or above to claim the top Fit payment – or be subject to a much lower rate.

“We trust that after the fiasco of recent months over the introduction of lower Fit rates, the government will heed the warnings of the solar industry and remove the stringent EPC requirement for homes which would price the majority of the population out of even considering an investment in solar technology.”

Charles Perry, co-founder of Second Nature Partnership, told FTAdviser that although the government declares itself to be the “greenest government ever”, it has yet to deliver on its promises.

He said: “This government has given lots of promises but there is no delivery. Investors will now be benefiting from higher Fit rates.”

The DECC is yet to comment on the ruling.