The government has lost its appeal against a
judge's ruling that its cuts to solar power subsidies were illegal,
suggesting thousands of homes and businesses will now be able to claim the
higher payments.
Three court of appeal judges unanimously rejected the appeal
from Chris Huhne, the secretary of state at the Department
of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), who said he would be taking the
case on to the supreme court. "We want to maximise the number of installations
that are possible within the available budget rather than use available money
to pay a higher tariff to half the number of installations," he said.
The decision to prolong the uncertainty that has seen the
number of solar panel installations fall since 12 December and was immediately
condemned by opponents of the cuts. Green party MP Caroline Lucas said:
"Having lost twice in the courts and been roundly humiliated over the
shambolic handling of solar policy, it is absolutely beggars belief that Huhne
is planning to appeal to the supreme court."
The government announced proposed cuts to the solar feed-in
tariff payments in October but in December, a high court judge ruled that
the government's handling of the cuts was "legally flawed", after a
challenge by a coalition of solar installation companies and Friends of the
Earth.
On 19 January, the government said that if it lost the legal
case, it would fund the higher rate payments for any panels installed by 3
March, which would affect about 3,700 homes and businesses. A DECC spokeswoman
said: "We totally appreciate the uncertainty in the solar industry and
hopefully the 3 March date will provide some certainty."
DECC's legal fees have cost taxpayers £58,000 so far, though
this does not include the costs of their opponents, which the appeal court said
DECC must also pay.
The court of appeal refused permission for Huhne to seek a
hearing in the supreme court, but this does not prevent the secretary of state
going directly to the higher court. He has 28 days to lodge permission to
appeal. Some campaigners have suggested this continued uncertainty may reduce
the number of new installations, and therefore reduce the number eligible for
the higher feed-in-tariff if the government ultimately loses its case.
John Cridland, director-general of the CBI, said: "The
judgment should be used to draw a line under this saga, which saw the
government scoring a spectacular own goal."
Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Energy
Association, said the rejection of the appeal prevented a precedent being set
which would allowed the government to make retrospective policy changes in
future. "The government is well aware that it would be incredibly unwise
to reduce payments to renewable energy producers after they had commissioned
their projects, as it knows what immense damage that would do," she said.
The judgment stated: "The question [is] whether
parliament conferred a power [to DECC] to make a modification with such a
retrospective effect. It did not."
The cuts proposed in October – from 43.3p per kWh of energy
generated to 21p – prompted a furious backlash, with the main complaint being
the speed of the changes, which were designed to come into effect just six
weeks later, on 12 December. Critics also drew attention to the fact that the
consultation did not end until 23 December – over a week after the changes were
proposed to take place.
In December, a cross-party group of MPs said in a strongly
worded report that the reductions were "clumsily handled", had
threatened jobs and could have dealt a fatal blow to the scheme, because the
changes required homes to meet the C-rated energy efficiency standard before
becoming eligible for the solar feed-in tariff.
Urban Energy
Urban Energy are delighted that nearly half the population
would like to install renewable energy technologies; what worries us is the
lack of awareness surrounding it. To bridge the Green Gap it’s essential we
continue to educate consumers and break down some of the myths surrounding the
Green Deal, energy efficiency and microgeneration.
Urban Energy has earned a reputation as the south’s leading
renewable energy specialist. This has been achieved by ensuring that from the
initial point of client contact we offer 1st class customer service and care.
We only install products that lead the way within the
renewable energy industry and that are renowned for their high quality and
ecologically sound production. This reflects our own high standards and quality
assurance.
We understand that introducing a renewable energy system to
either your home or business is an investment that lasts for many years. With
our in-house electrical and plumbing division it is our promise to you the
customer that your satisfaction and peace of mind throughout this period is our
number one priority.
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