This morning the Appeal Court upheld the finding of the High Court before Christmas - that the sudden changes to the Feed in Tariff by the Government were illegal.

25Jan 2012

We have all been hoping for this result and it is highly important as it prevents the Government from making retrospective changes to FIT contracts.

We still cannot be totally sure what this means for the rates paid on systems installed between the 12th of December and the 3rd of March as the government has decided ask the Appeal court to grant permission to take the supreme court, they will let them know if they are aloud to do so in the next couple of days.

So what does this now mean for the industry?

If the appeal is not aloud to go to the supreme court then should mean that systems fitted between now and the 3rd of March will receive the original FIT rate of 43.3p - we suspect that the government are just prolonging the uncertainty to reduce the inevitable gold rush that will happen if the 43p tariff is reinstated.

If you are thinking of installing quickly in the hope of getting the 43.3p rate then you must prepare yourself for the chance of getting the lower 21p - although panel prices have come down lots in the last month and we can still give 8-10% returns on the 21p rate - so if you do get the higher rate great!  Please don't be put off by the potential of getting the lower rate.

Our MD and Chair of the STA Howard Johns made the following comment to the press today:

“We are delighted that the High Court has rejected the Government’s attempt to overturn the original ruling against this hasty and poorly thought out tariff cut. The Government’s proposals threaten tens of thousands of jobs, and would devastate a high tech green industry which has fantastic economic and environmental potential. Ministers should accept this ruling, and must not drag this on to the Supreme Court – the longer their legal wrangling continues, the more harm they do by leaving uncertainty hanging over 25,000 British workers.”

For a more indepth analysis please read:

http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/123081-government-lose-appeal-bid-over-unlawful-feed-in-tariffs.html

In a dramatic judgement yesterday at the High Court, Mr Justice Mitting found Government Ministers had acted unlawfully in cutting feed-in tariffs from the 12th December. 

After a two day hearing closely examining the law, he decided that Ministers were not following the correct legal process, and were wrong to reduce tariff rates without first laying regulations before Parliament.

Mr Justice Mittings finding was so emphatic that he went on to refuse the Government the right to appeal, saying they stood little chance of overturning it.  This does not stop the Government asking the Appeal Court to hear their case - but in an unusual move Mr Justice Mitting even reduced the time available for them to make this request, saying they must file legal arguments with the Appeal Court by 4th January.

As things now stand therefore, the "eligibility date" of 12th December is unlawful, and Government will have to table new proposals.  A new date is likely to be around the end of February - this would give time for the 40 day period of consideration the law requires which Ministers ignored this time around.  However if the Government do appeal the finding - as they have said they will - and successfully overturn it, they will be able to re-impose the 12th December date.  This means that while there is a good chance of a later eligibility date, it will not be possible to guarantee the higher rates to customers until the legal process has finished.

Clearly this adds to the uncertainty for the next few weeks - but the longer-term effect of holding the Government to account and insisting on due process ought to reinforce the demands that Government must never again throw the solar industry - or indeed any part of the new environmental industries - into the kind of turmoil solar has faced in the last couple of months.  The finding is also intensely embarassing for Ministers, as it once again throws the spotlight on their botched handling of the entire policy.

What is now needed is for Ministers to take the criticism on the chin, and start afresh from here, drawing up a sensible path forward that takes solar from current levels of subsidy to grid parity in a predictable way that allows the industry to develop.  It is time for Ministers to recognise that the fact solar prices have fallen faster than expected is a good news story, not a reason to shrink the industry.  It is disappointing that despite the Judge warning they are unlikely to succeed, Ministers are still proposing to drag the process out further - but it is worth keeping fingers crossed that a break over Christmas, and some fresh legal advice will cause them to think again.  They can be assured that if they take the sensible path, the solar industry will be with them.

Above taken from Our Solar Future