UK government seeks appeal against High Court ruling

04.01.2012: Yesterday the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was to submit the grounds for an appeal against a ruling on solar energy by the country’s High Court, according to a DECC spokesperson. Last month, the High Court concluded that cuts to the UK’s solar feed-in tariffs were illegal – a decision that followed a legal challenge by the Friends of the Earth association and the solar firms HomeSun and Solarcentury. Friends of the Earth stated that an appeal by the government “means solar businesses can't be sure what tariff payment solar projects installed now will receive” and added that “the uncertainty is crippling businesses and costing jobs.” A DECC spokesperson says that the government hopes it can secure a hearing “as soon as possible” and notes that the government “disagrees with the court's decision.” Friends of the Earth is also calling on the government to increase the budget for solar in order to allow more people to benefit from the technology. … Source: UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, Friends of the Earth, PHOTON; Summary: PHOTON

More information at:

www.foe.co.uk
www.solarcentury.co.uk