Friday 13th will be decision day for solar feed-in tariffs (FITs) in the UK as the Court of Appeal will hear the government’s case against the High Court’s ruling that the change to the scheme are unlawful.
Last month, the High Court rule that the government’s attempt to rush through a reduction to the feed-in tariff for solar installations from 43.3p to 21p before the end of the consultation period was illegal.
According to Friends of the Earth, who brought the case with two solar firms, Solarcentury and HomeSun, the hearing on Friday will be “rolled up” so that the application for permission to appeal and the appeal itself will be heard on the same day.
The High Court had refused the government permission to appeal on the ground that it stood no ‘realistic’ prospect of success.
“Ministers’ insistence on continuing with the appeal process will simply add to the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the solar industry,” says Friends of the Earth policy and campaigns director Craig Bennett.
“Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money fighting this in the courts, Ministers should take steps to safeguard thousands of solar jobs and enable more homes, businesses and communities to plug in to clean energy.”
