With Christmas just around the corner, more householders than ever before are looking forward to a ‘green’ Christmas thanks to the growing popularity of wood burning stoves, says Broseley Fires.

High Court Judge Mitting rules that the Government plans to cut Feed In Tariffs for Solar PV are “Legally flawed”, and subject to a judicial review. The Government announces immediate plans to appeal against the decision… More to follow

Government plans to cut financial incentives for solar electricity have created “huge economic uncertainty” and are “manifestly unlawful”, the High Court was told today.

The High Court has given permission today (Thursday 15 December 2011) to Friends of the Earth and two solar companies – Solarcentury and HomeSun – to challenge government plans to slash financial incentives for solar electricity. The Judicial review will be heard on Tuesday and Wednesday (20/21 December 2011) next week.

 Solar installers in hard hats and overalls will join Friends of the Earth as a solar panel is put in a large bin to highlight the 29,000 jobs that will be lost through government cuts. This will take place as a Friends of the Earth application to the High Court to challenge ministers’ plans is heard in the High Court.

SmartestEnergy has urged the government to close the gap between Feed-in Tariff (FiT) rates for domestic and commercial scale solar projects.

Several high profile legal challenges against the government’s decision to slash Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) for solar installations from December 12 have been rejected by the High Court, reports GreenWise. But green campaign group Friends of the Earth and two solar companies – Solarcentury and HomeSun – are appealing against the High Court decision. Friends of the Earth said today it had received confirmation its appeal hearing to fight the government solar FiT decision would take place on December 15. It follows a ruling on November 25 by the High Court rejecting permission for a legal challenge on the grounds the case was not strong enough. “The organisations are now asking the High Court to reverse the decision and allow a hearing into the legal challenges as soon as possible,” Friends of the Earth said in a release. The green group and the solar firms decided to take legal action against the government after it announced on October 31 it planned to cut FiTs by more than 50 per cent on solar installations completed on or after December 12 this year. In their case, Friends of the Earth, Solarcentury and HomeSun argue the government’s FiT plans are unlawful because the December 12 cut-off point is two weeks before the consultation on the fast track FiT review ends. Friends of the Earth adds this will “unfairly cause” numerous planned solar schemes to be abandoned and could cost up to 29,000 jobs. “We strongly believe government plans to abruptly slash solar subsidies are illegal, we hope the High Court agrees to allow our case to be heard as soon as possible,” Friends of the Earth’s executive director Andy Atkins said today. “In a time of economic gloom, the solar industry has been one of the UK’s brightest success stories, enabling homes and communities across the country to free themselves from expensive fossil fuels. “It’s short sighted for Ministers to move the goalposts and prematurely pull the subsidy – this will cost tens of thousands of jobs, bankrupt businesses and reduce Treasury income by up to £230 million a year.” Last week, heating and renewable energy giant Carillion confirmed it had put 4,500 of its staff on redundancy notice because of the Government’s planned cuts to solar subsidy rates. Friends of the Earth said it was also asking the High Court to cap its potential legal costs for the case. International rules specify that costs should be limited in public interest cases on the environment. In a separate, but related move, ‘Cut, Don’t Kill’ the campaign group seeking to get the government to reverse its decision on solar cuts, has announced it is planning another day of action on December 13.

The High Court has agreed to hear applications by Friends of the Earth and two solar companies – Solarcentury and HomeSun – for permission to challenge government plans to slash financial incentives for solar electricity on Thursday 15 December 2011.