Friends of the Earth and a couple of solar companies had taken the government to court to test whether it was lawful for them to cut FITs by more than 50% with very little notice - The whole industry had expected them to be cut, but not nearly so savagely and not until April 2012. By bringing the cuts forward some 4 months, they threw the entire industry into chaos, and dashed a lot of people's plans.
The government will challenge the ruling, of course, but it seems there's a good chance they won't be successful. I hope they fail, it's about time they got a whack across the nose for their attitude. They think they've the right to axe anything in any way they they see fit, all in the name of "austerity cuts". It's about time they learnt not to screw people about.
It's not just me who thinks that. The day after the above ruling, two parliamentary committees criticised the subsidy changes as clumsy and likely to deal a "fatal blow" to the solar industry. Yep, not only is the government cutting too much with little warning but, to even qualify for the lower subsidy from April 2012, you will have to have an energy performance certificate for your house first.
This means you may have to spend thousands of pounds on insulation work before you can even think about solar panels. Sounds like a deterrent to me. One that could finish the solar industry off.
More here and here.
Oh, and now the Church of England has waded in.Wake up and smell the coffee Prime Minister Cameron: Your lot have got it horribly wrong. Again.
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