NEWSREVIEW Uncertain response
FOLLOWING the Government’s defeat in the Court of Appeal, which found that its attempt to reduce Feed-in Tariff (FiT) payment rates by 50% for domestic solar electricity (PV) systems was “unlawful”, having announced the cuts before the end of its own consultation period, energy efficiency expert Enact believes the uncertainty surrounding FiT payments is likely to remain for some time yet.
Enact, which has worked in the energy efficiency sector across the UK since it was launched in 1996 believes the Court of Appeal finding has left the solar industry shrouded in uncertainty and extremely frustrated. A statement by the company following the finding says the result has seen yet more speculation as to the future of FiT payment levels.
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“Speculation is that the original tariff of 43.3p may be reinstated until the new deadline of 3rd March 2012. However, should the DECC win the right to appeal to the Supreme Court which it has asked permission to do, and win, the 21p rate would retroactively apply from 12th December 2011.
“We join the rest of the industry in expressing our frustration that the uncertainty remains. In our opinion the 21p rate is still an attractive option and we would advise consumers to proceed with their installs on this basis prior to 3rd March 2012. If DECC loses its next application to appeal the lucky few who have had a system installed and commissioned prior to 3rd March could benefit from the higher rate,” said a spokesman for the company.
The High Court ruling that the Government had acted “unlawfully” in proposing cuts to the FiT rate for domestic solar installations after the 12th December 2011 on the grounds that the consultation period on the scheme did not close until 23rd December was upheld saying that the secretary of state, Chris Huhne, had no power under legislation to make retrospective changes to the FiT.
The FiT stood at its highest rate of 43.3p per kWh, paid for the generation of electricity produced by domestic solar electricity systems of up to 4kWp size
across Britain. DECC announced a review of the FiT stating that the original rate was not “sustainable” and put forward a proposal to reduce the subsidy to 21p per kW/h with an effective date of 12th December 2011.
The earlier change to the scheme sparked anger within the industry with warnings of the potential loss of thousands of jobs. The High Court ruled that the change to the tariffs was “legally flawed”.
A spokesperson for DECC said “The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FiTs. We disagree and are seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.”
Chris Huhne resigns as minister for Energy
FOLLOWING reports that he is to be charged over a speeding incident Chris Huhne the Minister for Energy resigned throwing further confusion towards the outcome of a FiT review and the governments decision to pursue the matter to the Supreme Court. Huhne had received criticism over the cost of continuing the ongoing case with some suggesting any economic return the changes to the Feed in Tarrif scheme may have made are being swallowed in legal costs.
Business Minister Ed Davey will replace Huhne in the interim and the industry will have to see if this precipitates a change of direction for the government’s process in constructively moving the solar and PV industry forward.
Huhne has declared his innocence and says he is standing down so as not to distract from the government’s efforts. Huhne’s party leader, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he hoped Huhne would return to government.
Huhne is likely to be charged with perverting the course of justice after his car was caught speeding but Huhne claimed another person was driving and that person took the blame and subsequent driver’s points. Since then a number of people
claimed to have seen the supposed driver at a function casting doubt on Huhne’s version of events. The UK solar and photovoltaic industry will need to wait until next week when the next court decision is due. The industry has been in turmoil since the government announced its desire to change the FiT in place and decided to enforce changes two weeks before the consultation was complete. The courts have so far declared the action illegal but the government has so far being determined to take the issue all the way. Edward Davey MP was eventually announced the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change following his interim holding of the post
Arriving at DECC’s headquarters in London, Mr Davey said, “This is a sad day because Chris Huhne has had a real vision for a green economy and he’s done fabulous work as Secretary of State. I’ve now got to take up the challenges - the challenge of climate change, the challenge of energy security and I’m particularly conscious of the impact on households across the country of high energy bills. I’m determined to work to follow on Chris’s priorities, the Coalition’s priorities and to make them my priorities. I want us to have a green economy, with the green jobs and investment we need to help grow our economy.”
www.solar-pv-uk.com Issue I 2012
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