Government loses second court ruling over Feed-in Tariffs: What does this mean?

25 Jan 2012

What was today’s announcement about?

On Wednesday (25th January) three judges in the Court of Appeal unanimously rejected the Government’s appeal against the recent High Court ruling that recent proposals to change the Feed-in Tariff are illegal. The result of the High Court’s decision is that solar PV installations will receive the original Feed-in Tariff levels (43.3p/kWh for domestic installations) until the 3rd of March when the Government will reduce tariff levels significantly (21p/kWh for domestic installations).

After the announcement from the Court of Appeal, the Government issued a statement that they will now ask to appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court. Given the unequivocal nature of today’s decision, all commentators believe there is a very slim chance of the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the appeal, let alone upholding it and it also appears that the Government are themselves aware of this, but they have other reasons to pursue this case as far as possible…

In order to stay within an artificial cap placed on the FiT scheme, the Government want to limit the number of solar installations as much as they can. By carrying on with the appeal process, fewer installations will get built because of the very small chance that the Government could eventually be granted leave to appeal and then win, meaning the lower rate of 21p/kWh for domestic installations would apply for everything installed since December 12th.

We are calling for the Government to end its hopeless cause and give clarity to the solar industry. Solar energy is the fastest growing energy technology worldwide, has already created thousands of jobs in the UK, and is rapidly on its way to becoming cheaper than conventional forms of energy. We need the Government to change its attitude and increase its ambition for solar energy rather than trying to put a strangle hold on it.

What this means for your installation

If you are thinking of paying for your installation (NestEgg) then we think this is a great time to do so. There is a very strong chance that you’ll get the original, high tariff rate of 43.3p/kWh and we have reduced our prices so much that there’s a great return even on the lower tariff of 21p/kWh.

If you are thinking of having one of our free solar installations (SunRoof), then there is no change and no risk to you. We are offering these installations regardless of whether the Tariff is 43p or 21p, and since you benefit from the fantastic energy savings, you are unaffected by these recent court room dramas.