News

Government hit by double whammy over FiT Cuts

Less than 10 hours after a Mr Justice Mitting ruled that the Government’s cut of the Feed in Tariff was “Legally Flawed”,  a joint report by two Parliamentary Select Committees said the panicked changes could have a “Fatal Impact” on the UK Solar Industry.

< 1 min read

On a dramatic day (Wednesday 21st December 2011) , the High Court ruled that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) changes to the Feed In Tariff did not meet the “the statutory purpose” of promoting small-scale, low carbon electricity-generating schemes, but rather “… will tend to undermine the confidence of those participating in the market for small solar systems”;

The joint report for the Energy and Climate Change Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee was scathing. Energy and Climate Change Committee Chair Tim Yeo MP said  “The consequence of the rushed, eleventh-hour consultation will be uncertainty among investors in all kinds of renewable energy, which will inevitably push up the cost of capital.”

“This is an extremely unfortunate outcome, because right now we need unprecedented levels of investment to replace ageing power stations and reduce emissions.”

“The Government should build predictability into its energy policies and then stick to it. There should always have been a review mechanism for FITs that responded to falling costs .”