UK Government To Be Taken To Court Over Feed-in Tariff Cut

Friends of the Earth are taking the government to court over their decision to halve feed-in tariffs (solar subsidies) come December 12th.

Friends of the Earth are arguing that the cut-off date is 2 weeks before the review of the feed-in tariffs was even due to finish and therefore unlawful.

The CBI (who represent UK business interests) have also critisised the government for making the move earlier than planned.

The decision has basically left the whole UK solar industry in chaos: Potential customers scrambling to get panels fitted in time; solar panel fitters desperately trying to organise their schedules to maximise their income while they can; panel fitters trying to source the panels from the manufacturers in time (many failing); redundancies or closure for those companies who can't organise themselves in time; and customers cancelling contracts because they are waiting for planning permission (required in conservation areas and on listed buidings) and have no chance of it being granted in time; and once the deadline has passed there will be a huge fall-off in demand for panels, leading to more redundancies and closures. Effectively crippling a rapidly growing industry.

More here.