Friends of the Earth threatens judicial review over solar subsidy cuts

Campaign group Friends of the Earth has threatened the government with judicial review if ministers proceed with controversial cuts to solar electricity subsidies.

The charity said today that it had written to Climate Change Minister Greg Barker warning that unless the government agreed to amend the proposals by 4 pm on 11 November, it would commence court proceedings.

Friends of the Earth’s announcement is the latest attack on government plans to cut subsidies for Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) rates by more than 50%. The reductions for owners of multiple installations – such as local authorities and housing associations – are even greater.

The lower rates will be imposed on installations completed after 12 December this year. The government had originally announced that payments would remain unchanged until April 2012.

Friends of the Earth argued that this cut-off date was unlawful and would lead to unfinished or planned projects being abandoned. It also claimed that the wording in the consultation indicated that there was little prospect of ministers keeping an open mind about representations made while the consultation period was ongoing.

In its letter to Barker, Friends of the Earth called for the government to maintain existing tariff payments to all qualifying solar schemes completed by 1 April 2012, and to extend the consultation until 17 February next year "at the earliest".

The charity’s Policy and Campaigns Director, Craig Bennett, said: "The government is breaking the law with its plans to fast-track a solar industry kill-off – as well as jeopardising thousands of jobs and countless clean energy projects across the country.

"Significant time and money has been invested planning solar schemes for homes, schools and libraries – giving them just six weeks to install is completely unacceptable, and schemes have already been scrapped. Ministers must amend their proposals and extend the deadline for solar tariff payments, or face a judicial review.”

Ministers have argued that the cuts were necessary to protect the wider FITs scheme and to ensure that the solar industry did not fall victim to boom and bust.

Reading Borough Council has already announced it plans to write to the government to protest at the cuts, which it said had rendered a number of its schemes unviable.

The Peabody Trust has meanwhile warned that it would only be able – under the revised subsidies – to install around 50% of the solar panels it had originally planned.

The Trust, one of the largest housing associations in London, had intended to install up to six megawatts on its homes by March 2012.

Stephen Howlett, Peabody’s chief executive, said: ““Peabody has invested significant amounts of money developing our solar scheme, for example, in procurement and legal fees. Many other businesses will have done the same. This now looks as if it will have to be written-off – a huge and unnecessary waste at a time when we are striving to make austerity savings.”

Philip Hoult