Croftons Solicitors LLP

After the government’s announcement on 31 October launching the consultation which is likely to see feed in tariffs for solar pv installations cut by more than half for installations not registered by 12 December, protest groups including Friends of the Earth, Solarcentury and Homesun launched Judicial Review applications against the government’s cuts.

The parties mounting this application claim that by ending the consultation after the enforcement date, the government have acted illegally.

It is thought that these initial Judicial Review applications have been rejected but a High Court judge has granted a second oral hearing on 15 December.

Whilst this is after the enforcement date, John Faulks, General Counsel for Solarcentury remains optimistic. He explains that: “To get a permission hearing on 15 December is actually good progress. That may sound ridiculous given the impact of 12 December, but this is Judicial Review…We got knocked back on the written arguments at the initial application stage. That’s not unusual. The case starts for real on December 15.”

Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins believes that their application has some promise and explained that he thought it “short sighted for Ministers to move the goalposts and prematurely pull the subsidy.”  Mr Atkins claimed the cuts would “cost tens of thousands of jobs, bankrupt businesses and reduce Treasury income by up to £230m a year.”

Lucy Worrall, Partner

Twitter; @lucyVworrall

Email; lworrall@croftons.co.uk

Posted on 13.12.11

---

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website