Newsflash: Judge rules solar Feed-in Tariff consultation unlawful

The High Court ruled in favour of Friends of the Earth and two solar companies on 21 December, finding that government's consultation on the solar FiT breached rules governing consultation exercises. This decision comes as the cross-party Select Committee publishes its report on the consultation, slamming government for its "unfair" handling of the proposed changes.

Government will be appealing the High Court decision in January and until that process is complete the tariff levels will be uncertain.

If the judgement stands, the rates for solar PV could potentially go back to the pre-12 December levels, until government has completed a full parliamentary process (finished the consultation, reviewed the responses and laid the changes before parliament). It is estimated that the full process would take until around the start of April 2012 - meaning that we could see the 43.3p rate (for sub-4kW projects) available for new installations up to the start of April 2012.

Regen recommends waiting for greater clarity before making any business planning decisions based on this potential re-instatement of the higher tariff rates - Government could win the appeal, meaning the rates will remain at the lower post-12 December rate. We are concerned about the uncertainty that this decision will create for the solar industry and in particular the implications for the FIT budget and the tariff rates post-April 2012. The DECC team have been forthcoming in engaging with industry directly and attending Regen's events to discuss the issues. Industry now needs to build on this relationship, to work with government to come up with constructive solutions for long term support for microgeneration technologies going forward. Regen will be working with DECC and our members to facilitate this relationship.

For more details about the High Court ruling visit http://is.gd/YhZG3k
To read the Select Committee report on the consultation visit http://is.gd/fcyXeJ