Breaking news in PV FIT tarrif – The Government (DECC) has lost their appeal 25/01/12

Appeal Court Deny DECC over FiTs – Moves to Appeal to Supreme Court

After deliberating since January 13, the Court of Appeal has today found against the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) at a hearing for its appeal against the High Court’s December ruling on UK solar feed-in tariffs. This means the feed-in tariff could now go back to 43.3p/kWh for <4kW systems installed until March 3, 2012, subject to a further appeal to the Supreme Court.

So, what does this mean for the Solar PV industry and its installers? If Court of Appeal finding stands then:

• Solar installations registered between 12 December- 3 March will attract the 43.3p/kWh rate for 25 years
• Installations registered on or after 3 March will also attract 43.3p/kWh, but only until 1 April at which point they will receive 21 p/kWh for the remainder of the 25 years
• All installations from 1 April until the next reduction date will attract 21 p/kWh for 25 years

The Energy and Climate Secretary, Chris Huhne, intends to appeal against today’s decision; he commented:

“The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FiTs albeit on different grounds. We disagree and are seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

“We have already put before Parliament changes to the regulations that will bring a 21p rate into effect from April for solar PV installations from 3 March to help reduce the pressure on the budget and provide as much certainty as we can for consumers and industry.

“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. Solar PV can have strong and vibrant future in UK and we want a lasting FiTs scheme to support that future and jobs in the industry.”

Uptake recently rocketed when lower rates were originally announced and it’s now expected that we’ll see a similar reaction. NAPIT members must be careful not to overpromise rates to their customers at a time when DECC are still taking their appeal to a higher level.

NAPIT Director David Cowburn commented:

“It’s important that installers are aware the imminent Supreme Court appeal which still means it’s impossible to promise customers the 43.3p rate as only the lower 21p rate is certain. We are pleased however, that DECC have confirmed that the 21 p rate is not under threat of further reduction if they cannot overturn the Appeal Court finding.”

Source – NAPIT News Bulletin – 25/1/12