Industry leaders have called on the Government to now draw a line under the Feed-in Tariff fiasco after the Court of Appeal today unanimously ruled Secretary of State Chris Huhne had overstepped his powers with plans to rush through sudden cuts to solar tariff payments.
Now campaign group Friends of the Earth, which helped bring the original successful court challenge, say any Government move to appeal again to the Supreme Court will create yet more uncertainty for solar firms.
And the organisation has urged defeated Ministers to concentrate on safeguarding the industry rather than wasting more time and money on further appeals.
Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said: “This landmark judgement confirms that devastating Government plans to rush through cuts to solar payments are illegal – and will prevent Ministers from causing industry chaos with similar cuts in future.
“The Government must now take steps to safeguard the UK’s solar industry and the 29,000 jobs still facing the chop.
“Ministers must abandon plans to tighten the screw on which homes qualify for solar payments – and use the massive tax revenues generated by solar to protect the industry.
“Helping more people to plug into clean British energy will help protect cash-strapped households from soaring fuel bills.”
John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said the Government should not take the case to the Supreme Court as now confirmed, and added: “The judgement should be used to draw a line under this saga, which saw the Government scoring a spectacular own goal and confidence in the renewables sector undermined.
“We must bring certainty back to this high growth sector. Looking to the future, the Government should guarantee the rate applicants will receive earlier in the process, for all the technologies covered by the feed-in-tariff, to give buyers the confidence to proceed.”
Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy, added: “The credibility of the way the FIT budget is set has been seriously damaged, and the government must reform the tariff to prevent this boom-and-bust situation from happening again.
“FIT is a great way to give people more control of their energy bills, so it’s no surprise that the scheme has been popular – it should not be a victim of its own success.
“Now the government is looking at other ways of reducing uptake such as proposed minimum energy efficiency standard which will be unattainable for many households. The government’s decision to provide a replacement deadline on 3rd March at least means we know what tariff projects registered before 1st April will get – and will probably result in another mini-goldrush in the next few weeks.
“But we still don’t know what support projects registered after April 1st will receive.”
Solar Trade Association chairman Howard Johns is calling for a line to be drawn under the affair to allow the industry to get back to business.
He said: “Hopefully today’s result will draw this episode to a close, and mean that one of the only growing sectors in the UK can get back to work.
“The Government’s appeal against the original ruling has created huge uncertainty for the thousands of small businesses in the sector, and we sincerely hope that the Government chooses not to take this further by appealing against this result.”
David Hunt, a director with leading renewable energy company Eco Environments, said: “This is an almighty kick in the teeth for the Government, but a fantastic result for consumers who have either gone ahead with an installation since December 12 or are keen to do so now.
“The phones have already started ringing with homeowners keen to cash in on this mini gold rush. Given that the cost of Solar PV installations has dropped dramatically since December 12, consumers can now achieve breathtaking returns on investment.”
The full consultation on the FIT rates for solar and other technologies is due for release on February 9 which should give a clear picture of the rates from April this year and beyond.
David added: “We would also hope that the consultation will confirm whether or not homes considering an installation from April will need an Energy Performance Certificate of Grade C or above to claim the top FIT payment – or be subject to a much lower rate.
“We trust that after the fiasco of recent months over the introduction of lower FIT rates, the Government will heed the warnings of the solar industry and remove the stringent EPC requirement for homes which would price the majority of the population out of even considering an investment in solar technology.”
And Phil McVan, MD of Myriad CEG Power, added: “The stop, start nature of what has happened in the solar industry as a result of the Government’s actions is exactly what businesses don’t want at a time when they are trying to juggle limited resources and lack of credit from the banks with meeting green energy commitments.
“It has meant people have been unable to plan effectively for the future because they don’t know when the sands are going to shift.
“The Government should be working to minimise the damage to the industry, ensure that poor and disadvantaged communities don’t miss out on the real benefits of solar energy and that robust businesses have an environment in which they can prosper and help the UK meet its green energy targets.”
Renewable Energy Association chief executive Gaynor Hartnell supported the calls for the Government to move on.
“The Government’s action and the subsequent court case had together thrown the solar industry into a state of extreme uncertainty, which was most regrettable,” she said. “We now want to put this behind us as swiftly as possible, and work with Government and supporters to secure a larger budget for small scale renewable energy generation.
“In reality, Government is well aware that it would be incredibly unwise to reduce payments to renewable energy producers after they had commissioned their projects, as it knows what immense damage that would do.”
The Court of Appeal today (Wednesday 25 January 2012) unanimously rejected government attempts to overturn last month’s High Court ruling that its plans to rush through sudden cuts to solar tariff payments are illegal.
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court ruling that government cuts to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) were unlawful.
Small wind turbines are playing an increasingly important role in helping the Scottish government to meet its Renewables Routemap commitments – specifically with reference to the government’s ambitious renewable energy target of 30 per cent by 2020. The 2020 Routemap for Renewable Energy report highlights how innovative migrogeneration technology solutions – such as the Evance small wind turbine – can support community and locally-owned energy generation, and also help address fuel poverty issues in the most remote areas.
Evance Wind Turbines – UK manufacturers of the R9000 small wind turbine – has seen an increasing number of homeowners and farmers across Scotland put small wind turbines to work, with many benefiting from installing multiple small wind turbines rather than one large turbine. During 2011 Evance has seen healthy sales growth in Scotland, especially in the more remote regions. For example, 50 Evance turbines were installed in the Orkney Islands alone, and all have performed strongly during recent storms – despite peak wind gusts of over 130mph.
Evance’s small wind turbines are also proving an attractive option for Scottish residents who are increasingly unable to afford domestic heating oil costs that remained high throughout 2011, and have increased by some 66 percent over the last three years and by over a quarter in the last year alone. For these and other remote residents, fuel poverty is a very real threat. It’s estimated that around 900,000 households in Scotland – more than one in three – are currently in fuel poverty. By installing an Evance R9000 small wind turbine in the right location, remote households and businesses can make substantial energy savings and generate an income through Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs). Some organisations also offer a service where they provide free wind energy in return for the land to install a R9000 small wind turbine.
“We have had great success in Scotland during 2011, and enter 2012 with a strong order book for Scottish customers – we anticipate 10 turbines per week being installed during the first three months of 2012,” commented Kevin Parslow, CEO of Evance Wind Turbines.
“With impressive wind speeds in most regions across Scotland, especially in the Highlands and Islands, it makes sense for that renewable energy source to be put to good use.
“Working with organisations such as Community Energy Scotland, we have been particularly successful in communicating the benefits of small wind turbines, and helping our customers to realise dramatic energy savings and CO2 emission savings,” he continued.
“Our turbines on Orkney are generating around 870MWh of electricity annually – based on an annual average wind speed of 7m/s – so saving over 370 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year – equivalent to taking over 160 cars off the road. Many of our customers have also been able to reduce energy bills by 50 per cent and some even eliminated their electricity bill over last winter.”
One Evance customer, the Linnitt family from Orkney, saw their R9000 turbine produce 18,500kWh of power in its first year – dramatically reducing energy bills and earning a Feed in Tariff income of over £5,000. According to Mrs. Linnitt: “It’s a great feeling to be producing green energy and to know that over the last year we have saved nearly eight tonnes of carbon emissions. We wanted a reliable turbine with good performance, and the Evance small wind turbine has met all our expectations.”
Judgment will be handed down at 10am tomorrow [Wednesday 25 January 2012] on the government’s appeal against last month’s High Court ruling that its plans to cut solar subsidy payments were illegal.
The government has provided much needed clarity on how it will respond to the imminent court decision on when proposed cuts to Feed-in Tariff incentives can come into effect.
It proposes that, should the appeal be defeated, the December 12th 2011 deadline would move to March 3rd 2012 meaning that anyone installing and registering a system before March 3rd would be eligible for the 43 p/kWh tariff for 25 years (for installations less than 4 kW). After March 3rd these installations would be entitled to the tariff of 21 p/kWh (less than half), which would remain as initially indicated and would not be cut further as some had predicted. Large installations, with between 50 kW and 250 kW of capacity, will see feed-in tariff payments cut to 12.9 p/kWh. Mid-sized installations with 4-10 kW will see tariffs cut from 37.8 p to 16.8 p/kWh, while installations while 10-50 kW will see payments cut from 32.9 p to 15.2 p/kWh.
However, if the government wins its appeal then December 12th as a cut-off date will remain. Graham Russell, managing director of Viessmann, said: “This holding statement is great news for those who had already planned solar PV but became uncertain about it last year. Despite all the confusion and very clouded messages coming from the government, home owners have a chance, if they react quickly, to enjoy higher tariffs of 43.3 p/kWh until March 3rd. Homeowners should still strongly consider installing solar PV as even the worst case scenario of 21 p for 4 kW installations is still a great return and if homeowners act before the March 3rd deadline, they can install without any requirement for their home to meet an EPC level, requiring remedial work for most homes in the UK.“
Worcester, Bosch Group has created a commemorative microsite to launch its 50th anniversary celebrations.
Green campaign group Friends of the Earth has welcomed government moves to cut solar subsidies under the Feed-in Tariff scheme by early March should their appeal court bid fail and reduce the uncertainty hanging over the industry.
Following the submission of information to the Green Deal consultation paper, Garry Worthington, head of Green Deal at Climate Energy says: “There are a number of challenges facing the government if the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) are to deliver cost-effective emissions reductions and meet the carbon reduction targets which have been set.
The government has laid draft licence modifications to the Energy Act, which will allow it to reduce the tariff rates in the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) to those laid out in its consultation document for all installations with an eligibility date on or after 3 March 2012. (http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/WMSCH_FITs/)
The Government has today laid out its plans to help get the Solar PV Market moving again by confirming the Feed in Tariff from March this year at 21.0p. This means that regardless of the decision of the Courts,and DECC’s appeal about the 12th December eligibility date, the industry can at last start to plan ahead
As the Green Deal consultation period ended yesterday, Plumb Center issued its official response to the questions posed by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has today issued its response to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultation on the Green Deal, highlighting key omissions and inconsistencies in the document.
Derry Newman, chief executive of Solarcentury, has resigned. He made the announcement on Friday, as the industry waited for news on the progress of the Feed-in Tariff at the High Court. Newman was previously managing director of Sony UK. Newman plans to continue to work with Solarcentury by using his experience to aid its social entrepreneurship involvements.
With the future shape of the UK solar industry on the line and at least £500,000 of taxpayer’s money in the balance, the government faces an anxious few days as it awaits the outcome of Friday’s legal bid to the Court of Appeal. Lawyers for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) argued for the opportunity of a full appeal hearing in an attempt to overturn last month’s High Court judgement that the proposed cuts to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) was unlawful.
The Court of Appeal is yet to pass judgement on the government’s bid (Friday 13 January 2012) to overturn last month’s High Court ruling that its plans to cut solar subsidy payments are illegal. The judges indicated that a decision by the end of this week would be “rather optimistic”.
The Court of Appeal will today [Friday 13 January 2012] hear the government’s challenge to last month’s High Court ruling that its solar subsidy cuts are illegal.
Even with the most modern gas boilers and state-of-the art insulation, we cannot continue to heat so many homes by natural gas and still achieve an 80% cut in emissions as laid down in the Climate Change Act 2008. The Academy’s report, Heat: degrees of comfort, looks at the challenges of matching our demand for domestic heating with the binding requirement to reduce our overall carbon emissions. The report looks at new technologies including heat pumps, considers options such as district heating and combined heat and power schemes and looks at incentives and drivers for the creation of new markets.
Problems with a reducing milk yield from a herd of Jersey and Guernsey cows, which includes Hyacinth, has led to spectacular green energy solution at Langage Farm, at Lee Mill, on the outskirts of Plymouth, Devon and moved on to a powerful waste disposal campaign.
Fernox has re-branded its Alphi-11 to Antifreeze Protector Alphi-11. The high performance product protects against internal corrosion and limescale formation and eliminates the risk of freezing – down to temperatures of -22°.
Available in 5 and 10 litre packs, Antifreeze Protector Alphi -11 protects pipework from freezing temperatures.
The product’s properties prevent corrosion of all metals found in domestic central heating systems, ie. ferrous metals, copper and copper alloys and aluminium.
Long-term viability of the UK solar market relies on the gradual reduction in tariffs and government collaboration rather than confrontation.
Following reports at the weekend that blades from a Evoco wind turbine flew off three structures in the recent winds, and that despites an order to be braked, some of the turbines were still spinning in the gales, Evoco has released the following statement: