Legal Challenge To DECC

Thursday 10th November 2011: Solarcentury has today confirmed that it is taking legal action as part of a group of solar companies, against the Department of Environment & Climate Change (DECC) because of the damage to business caused by the review of Feed in Tariffs for solar PV announced on 31st October. The group is seeking an interim injunction to stop DECC using the 12th December as the cut-off date for the current Feed-in tariffs. They claim such an early date is illegal, irrational and unreasonable.

The group wants to stop any cuts to tariff levels being made until DECC has actually completed a proper, legal review and followed the correct processes. Solarcentury and others have denounced the 31st October announcement in the strongest possible terms. Many large contracts have been cancelled following the announcement. These included major projects for Housing Associations and Local Authorities which were planned to complete by 31 March 2012, the original tariff change date, but which have no hope of completion by 12th December. The Housing Associations have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds themselves preparing for these schemes.

The group said: "We expected a proper and fair consultation on the review of FITs. We expected to have the time to plan for the next stage of the development of the market. We were all expecting a new tariff from April 2012 or at worst at the very end of a proper "fast-track" process. Instead we get a ready-made decision which seriously harms the solar industry and everyone in it and gives us less than six weeks to save the businesses we have built up over multiple years."

The group regards the 12th December cut-off date as a cynical move made without due regard to the inevitable and negative commercial consequences for thousands of new businesses, their staff and customers.

Jeremy Leggett Chairman of Solarcentury added: "It is profoundly depressing that the greenest Government ever has after just 18 months launched such an assault against a growing industry employing 25,000 people. I would much rather be helping to create many more "Big Society" jobs than taking the Government to court but sadly they leave us no choice. The banks get eight years to change, we get less than eight weeks. We are urging other companies to get involved in the consultation process. If they were to get away with this the consequences will go way beyond the wider PV sector. What low carbon industry investor or company will be able to trust the Prime Minister, Mr Huhne and Mr Barker ever again?"