UK Supreme Court Stops Early End to Solar Subsidies

According to a Reuters report, the British government on Friday lost a bid to ask the country’s Supreme Court to let it make an earlier than expected cut in subsidies for solar panels on homes, which it says cost too much.

The government had introduced a cut to the  country’s solar subsidies beginning  Dec. 12, 2011. Solar developers took the plan to court, saying that since the consultation period for the move ended after Dec. 12, the plan was unlawful.

In January, three Court of Appeal judges unanimously upheld an earlier High Court ruling that the energy secretary lacks the power to introduce the controversial “retrospective” scheme.

The energy secretary at the time said he would seek to appeal to the Supreme Court but, on Friday, the Supreme Court refused the government permission to appeal, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said.

The court said the application “does not raise an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by the Supreme Court at this time”, according to the Press Association.

“We are disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court not to grant permission to hear this case. But the Court’s decision draws a line under the case,” current Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey in a statement.

As a result of the ruling buildings which installed solar panels after the Dec. 12th deadline will now be able to benefit from higher tariffs, ending months of uncertainty for solar plant installers.

Instead, new subsidy cuts came into force on March 3rd, halving payments to intallations smaller than 4 kilowatts to 21 pence per kilowatt-hour.

“This marks the end of this particular turbulent chapter for the UK solar sector. We welcome the certainty for those who invested and installed since 12th December,” said Paul Barwell, chief executive of Britain’s Solar Trade Association.

Short URL: http://www.solarthermalmagazine.com/?p=17691

Posted by admin on Mar 26 2012. Filed under Europe, Financing and Funding, Solar PV, U.K., U.K.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry