Apeal Court rejects Governments right to appeal
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, it is 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 allowed to do so in the next couple of days.
So what does this now mean for the solar industry?
If the appeal is not allowed to go to the supreme court then it 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 which 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 in-depth analysis please read:
