DECC should invest in renewables rather than appeals, says CLA

The CLA today (25 January) said the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) must end the uncertainty in the renewables industry rather than continuing to appeal against the High Court’s ruling that its plans to cut solar FIT payments on projects completed after 12 December 2011 were unlawful.

The Court of Appeal has unanimously rejected attempts to overturn the ruling but the Government is seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

CLA President Harry Cotterell said: “Many CLA members lost out on the higher rate FIT payments when the Government illegally rushed through sudden payment cuts to the solar Feed-in Tariff.

“We regret the Government still intends to appeal even though two courts have now ruled it behaved unlawfully.

“We urge Ministers to stop wasting time and money on further appeals and stick to their own contingency plan. This will reduce the solar tariff for installations completed after 3 March and is the only way to end the uncertainty that is damaging investment.”

• The judgment made by the Court of Appeal today (25 January) prevents Ministers rushing through cuts to Feed-in Tariff payments in the future. Solar payments will remain at 43.3p (p/kWh) for projects completed on or after 3 March 2012, then the payment will fall to 21p on 1 April.
• However, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has confirmed that the Government disagrees with the judgment and is seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. If the Government wins the case, all installations completed after 12 December 2011 will get the lower rate starting on 1 April 2012.
• The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has more than 34,000 members.
• As a membership organisation, the CLA supports landowners by advising them on how best to protect and maximise their asset: the land. We are dedicated to supporting landowners and their businesses. Our success is measured by how effectively we do that. We have a team of experts in London and a regional structure able to give local support.
• We have been looking after the interests of our members, as well as promoting the positive aspects of land ownership, land management and rural business activities for the past 100 years. CLA members own or manage approximately half the rural land in England and Wales, and the resulting expertise puts us in a unique position to formulate policies and lobby effectively.
• For more information about the CLA, visit: www.cla.org.uk or follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/CLAtweets