Government loses solar panel appeal

The Court of Appeal has returned a negative judgement on the Government's appeal against a High Court decision that deemed sudden changes to Feed in Tariffs (FITs) as illegal.

The Government gave the solar industry just a few weeks' warning that the FIT, would be cut from 43.3p to 21p. The Government claims that the reduction will allow more people to make use of the FIT within the agreed budget.

The industry claims that the speed with which the measures were imposed was illegal, and the High Court and Court of Appeal have upheld this. However, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is now seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Earlier this week the Government announced a Plan B, which was to apply for the reduction through the proper process, and for the decrease to take place from March 2012.

Commenting on the situation, Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Foundation said: "Ultimately this decision will provide little solace to those landlords that have been forced to scale back their investment in renewable energy schemes. These schemes will not be revived whatever the Government decides to do on a further appeal to the Supreme Court, and it is disappointing that the implementation of cuts to solar FITs at very short notice and without meaningful consultation has created so much confusion.

"The efforts of building owners and occupiers will be central to creating a sustainable built environment; it is vital that these industries are given the market confidence they need to muster a business case for investment in energy efficiency and green technologies as other incentive schemes come on stream."