The solar industry is still debating whether the pursuit of a legal battle over government plans to reduce solar electricity tariffs is worth the ambiguity it’s causing the industry.
Many solar businesses have complained about the uncertainty caused by the appeal by Friends of the Earth and solar companies who have complained against the government’s decision to slash the feed-in-tariff (FIT). They have argued that this has been bad for business as it is has left a lot of uncertainty as to what they can tell customers of the rates they will get, making it difficult to market and ultimately sell their products and services.
Chairman of the British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA) said: ‘’in a way they (the firms that brought legal action against the government) are shooting themselves in the foot. If the budget runs out then we have no industry.’’ He then concluded that solar companies and Friends of the Earth should drop their cases to allow the industry to establish clarity that installations completed between now and April would get the lower rate.
The government has been consulting on plans to slash the FIT for solar electricity from 43p per KWh to 21p per KWh for installations completed after December 12. The changes would take effect from 1 April. This however was declared illegal by the High Court on 21 December after a case was filed by Friends of the Earth and other solar companies. The judge ruled that ending eligibility for the higher rate on a date before the consultation ended was illegal. The government is now seeking to appeal this decision and recently the court of appeal heard disagreements from the solar industry and the government.
