The environmental campaigning charity wrote to Climate Change Minister Greg Barker saying that unless the Government agrees to amend its proposals by 4pm today, it will commence court proceedings.
When the Government first announced that there would be a review of feed-in tariff payments for small scale solar schemes earlier this year, it said payments would remain unchanged until April 2012, unless the review reveals a need for greater urgency. However, the Government has since said it plans to impose lower feed-in tariff payments on any installations completed after 12 December this year. Friends of the Earth says this cut-off point, two weeks before the consultation ends, is unlawful because it will unfairly cause the abandonment of numerous planned solar schemes that would have been completed between 12 December and April 2012 and because the wording used in the Government proposals indicate there is little prospect that Ministers will keep an open mind about representations made while the consultation period is on-going – something they are legally obliged to do.
“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,” says Friends of the Earth’s Policy and Campaigns Director, Craig Bennett. "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.”
In its letter Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to: maintain existing tariff payments to all qualifying solar schemes completed by 1 April 2011 to extend the consultation period to Friday 17 February 2012, at the earliest.
"Ministers must amend their proposals and extend the deadline for solar tariff payments, or face a judicial review. With soaring fossil fuel bills and mounting anger about the Big Six energy firms, the Government should be encouraging people and communities to generate their own clean electricity – not destroying a new industry in its infancy,” Bennett adds.
Last month Friends of the Earth launched its Final Demand campaign for energy we can all afford and a public inquiry into the power and influence of the Big Six energy companies.
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