Chris Huhne, Energy and Climate Change Secretary made the following announcement today regarding the Feed-In Tariffs. The government had been challenging the verdict of the High Court, which had declared its planned cuts to the existing payments illegal. "The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FITs albeit on different grounds. We disagree and are seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. We have already put before Parliament changes to the regulations that will bring a 21p rate into effect from April for solar PV installations from 3 March to help reduce the pressure on the budget and provide as much certainty as we can for consumers and industry.

“We want to maximise the number of installations that are possible within the available budget rather than use available money to pay a higher tariff to half the number of installations. Solar PV can have strong and vibrant future in UK and we want a lasting FITs scheme to support that future and jobs in the industry.”

Commenting on the government’s decision to appeal the verdict of the Court of Appeal, which today found that government cuts to solar feed-in tariffs were unlawful, Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation said:

“Ultimately this decision will provide little solace to those landlords that have been forced to scale back their investment in renewable energy schemes. These schemes will not be revived whatever the Government decides to do on a further appeal to the Supreme Court, and it is disappointing that the implementation of cuts to solar FITs at very short notice and without meaningful consultation has created so much confusion.

“The efforts of building owners and occupiers will be central to creating a sustainable built environment; it is vital that these industries are given the market confidence they need to muster a business case for investment in energy efficiency and green technologies as other incentive schemes come on stream.”