Chris Huhne in charge of DECC and his wife's speeding points

All credit goes to the entrepreneurs involved in solar in the UK as it continues to perform impressively and we can now hope with DECC’s confirmation that rates will not fall below 21p, it can start to build towards long-term stability.

All of the coverage from this week’s events and the Court of Appeal’s which sent a panic through the industry, after newspapers stated that the 43.3p rate was back and then Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has today warned solar PV installers can not assume the current feed-in tariff rate stands at 43p/kWh, after confirming the government plans to appeal against a second court ruling that branded its original consultation to cut solar incentives as unlawful.

Greg Barker MP ruins green business in UK

Having met many installers over the last 48 hours the initial light at the end of the tunnel might even be the bailiff with a torch if the 43.3p is again in stop start mode.

I believe these ministers ate trying to keep their jobs by deliberately undermining a solar industry that commands significant public support from Tory party voters.

The chinless wonders in parliamentary jobs who have never run a business are displaying total incompetence by saying they want to deliver certainty for the sector and then pursuing yet another appeal which simply sees further uncertainty which just demonstrates that they are not  serious about this sector.

The government’s attempt to appeal against today’s ruling means the solar industry can’t guarantee the current level of support for solar feed-in tariff incentives.

The Appeal Court’s decision was certain to see the feed-in tariff rates  stay at 43p/kWh until the new March 3 cut-off date and instead of drawing a line the government now gets right to have its appeal heard in the Supreme Court which might secure a victory that allows it to enforce the proposals originally contained in its consultation document, effectively cutting incentives to 21p/kWh for all installations completed after December 12 last year.

We agree with CBI who say the government’s handling of changes to feed-in tariff incentives are not right even urging ministers to “draw a line under” the saga.

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: “The judgement should be used to draw a line under this saga, which saw the Government scoring a spectacular own goal and confidence in the renewables sector undermined.

Companies invest millions in UK Solar PV and Government do U Turn to Kill Industry

After deliberating since January 13, the Court of Appeal has today denied the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) a hearing for its appeal against the High Court’s December ruling on UK solar feed-in tariffs. This means the feed-in tariff will now go back to 43.3p for <4kW systems installed until March 3, 2012.

The three Lords Justices of Appeal announced their reserved judgment this morning following a hearing on January 13.

The court judgement means all those who have installed solar since December 12, and those who intend to install systems before the March 3 cut-off point, will receive the higher feed-in tariff rates for the full 25 years. Customers who register on or after March 3 will qualify for the current higher rate until April 1, when the rates will drop to the lower rates, as set out in the October 31 announcement.

Commenting on the decision, Daniel Green, CEO of HomeSun, said: “Four judges, including three in the Court of Appeal, have now called the Government’s actions illegal. That’s a four-nil victory and a decisive ruling that Government may not make retrospective changes to the FiT because, as Lord Justice Moses concludes, to do so ‘would be to take away an existing entitlement without statutory authority.’”

“Both this appeal and the Judicial Review in The High Court would not have been required had DECC simply followed its own process and allowed the industry, that it claims to support, time to prepare for a lower feed-in tariff,” continued Green.

Tweeting post judgement, Greg Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, said, “Win, lose or draw today, important we move forward together, drive down costs + step up deployment.”

Clare King, a renewable energy lawyer at Osborne Clarke, said: “This decision will be a surprise to many observers. We, like many others, will be studying the judgment closely so as to fully understand the implications for the UK solar industry.”

It is currently unclear whether Government will appeal to the Supreme Court.

SOURCE

Further comment and analysis of the decision will be posted on Solar Power Portal later today.

About the company

‘Netbods’ are specialists at taking a business with an opportunity that wants to grow and want to capitalise on growth immediately. Our objective for 2012 is creating a company at the forefront of the burgeoning renewable energy sector. Established in 2001 we already have a head start in the market, and the passion and expertise to build one of the UK’s leading Renewable Energy manufacturers & marketing agencies.

We are a full service marketing company and have clients who are best of the pack in supply of Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, Wind Turbines, Solar Thermal Heating and Air/Heat pump systems for UK domestic and commercial installers.

We are developing a 1400m2 Green Deal Centre aimed at the property and construction sector. Our company is going through massive growth and is now looking for additional Business Development Managers throughout the England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Green Deal Centre is  an innovative and expanding  ‘symbol’ group  for renewable energy and water conservation. Individual Green Deal centre operators are trade members who retain their independence but enjoy the advantages of operating under the umbrella of a national brand. Green Deal Centre members reap the benefits of being part of a large organisation with collective buying and marketing power, a strong corporate image and impressive back-up resources.

We aim to revolutionise the way in which consumers buy or fund renewable energy products and wholly support the UK Government Green Deal  in the latest incentive to reduce carbon emissions

About the role

A fantastic new position has arisen for a Wholesale Business Development Manager to join one of the UK’s leading Renewable Energy Systems companies.

We are suppliers to MCS accredited Renewable Energy companies, SUPPLY of Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, Wind Turbines, Solar Thermal Heating and Air/Heat pump systems for UK domestic and commercial customers, and the property and construction sector.

You will be managing the day to day running of the wholesale business, working with existing and new accounts, planning and leading sales campaigns into the market of Microgeneration Certified installers. You will be working closely with all departments to co-ordinate products / pricing / marketing / sales etc… 

About the person

To be considered for this vacancy you must understand the Renewable Energy Markets and products and have very good commercial contacts and business development skills.

It is also important that you are flexible and have good selling skills as you will need to demonstrate this within the Head Office and in front of customers whilst client facing .

You will also need to have an advanced understanding of wholesale markets and end-to-end supply chain as well as being highly proficient in Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

About the rewards

In return you will be offered a profit share of between £50-100,000 per annum, executive company car allowance and a quarterly bonus scheme.

If the above sounds of any interest to you and you would like to know more then please apply now or send your CV through to:

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**Regrettably we cannot get back to everyone due to the high volume of interest received, therefore please assume you have been unsuccessful this time round if you have not heard back within three working days of applying****

DECC say

DECC has today laid before Parliament draft licence modifications which, subject to the Parliamentary process set out in the Energy Act 2008, makes provision for a reduced tariff rate (from 1 April 2012 onwards) for new solar PV installations with an eligibility date on or after 3 March 2012 under the Feed – in Tariffs scheme (FITs).

Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said:

“I know this is a difficult time for the sector and I want to do as much as I can to end the current uncertainty created by the legal challenge.

“We must reduce the level of FITs for solar panels as quickly as possible, to protect consumer bills and to avoid bust in the whole Feed-in Tariff budget.  We’re appealing against the court ruling that’s challenged our proposal for a December reference date.  This remains our aim, and we are waiting for the judgment of the Court of Appeal.  But this is too important for us to sit and do nothing while we wait.  Today we’re putting in place a contingency that will bring a 21p rate into effect from April for installations from 3 March.

“However, we are still pressing ahead with our appeal and if successful, we retain the option of introducing a December reference date.  In the circumstances we believe this gives the industry as much certainty as is possible.  And it puts us in a better position to protect the budget for everyone involved.”

Further information on the Government’s response to this aspect of the FITs consultation, together with a summary of the relevant consultation responses, is also being published today on the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s website.

The consultation closed on 23 December 2011 and over 2,000 consultation responses were received which we have been analysing carefully. We are intending to announce the outcome of the consultation by 9 February 2012, in time for any resulting legislative changes to come into effect from 1 April 2012. Our aim is that this announcement will be accompanied by a set of reform proposals for the next phase of the comprehensive review of the FITs scheme, which will be the subject of a further consultation.

Chris Huhne taking Solar PV up the garden path

n 31 October 2011, the Government published a consultation on Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for solar photovoltaics (PV). This was in response to a substantial increase in deployment of PV, prompted by falling prices, with levels at nearly double the original projections for the first two years of the scheme. The consultation set out  proposals for responding to these developments, which were putting unsustainable pressure on the budget available for FITs.

The consultation sought views on whether to reduce the generation tariffs available for new solar PV installations to a more financially sustainable level. Among other things, it proposed applying the new generation tariffs from 1 April 2012 to all new solar PV installations with an eligibility date on or after an earlier “reference date”, which we proposed should be 12 December  2011. This reference date proposal has since been challenged by judicial review and the Government has sought an appeal of the decision of the High Court. We are now waiting for a judgment from the Court of Appeal and we cannot be sure of the date on which this will be issued.

We continue to stand by our original proposal. However, I know that the uncertainty while we await the Court’s decision is difficult for the industry. A retention of the 43p tariff could also create substantial risks to the FITs budget if our appeal is unsuccessful. For these reasons, we believe it is prudent to bring forward our decision on one aspect of the consultation: the proposals for new solar PV tariffs.

We are therefore laying before Parliament today some draft licence modifications which, subject to the Parliamentary process set out in the Energy Act 2008,  makes provision for a reduced tariff rate (from 1 April 2012 onwards) for new PV installations with an eligibility date on or after 3 March 2012.

If the Court finds in favour of the Government’s appeal, we intend to stand by all our consultation proposals, including an earlier (December) reference date, subject to the Parliamentary procedure and consideration of consultation responses. It is very important that we reserve this as an option because these 43p payments will take a disproportionate share of the budget available for small-scale low-carbon technologies. We want instead to maximise the number of installations that are possible within the available budget rather than use available subsidy to pay a higher tariff to a smaller number of installations.

The consultation closed on 23 December 2011 and over 2,000 consultation responses were received which we have been analysing carefully. We are intending to announce the outcome of the consultation by 9 February 2012, in time for any resulting legislative changes to come into effect from 1 April 2012. Our aim is that this announcement will be accompanied by a set of reform proposals for the next phase of the comprehensive review of the FITs scheme, which will be the subject of a further consultation.

The new generation tariffs set out in the draft licence modifications being laid today are set out in the table below and would apply for all installations with an eligibility date on or after 3 March 2012. Further information on the Government’s response to this aspect of the consultation, together with a summary of the relevant consultation responses, is also being published today on the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s website and will be available from www.decc.gov.uk/FITs.

I say

Friends of the Earth say they are now urging the Government to end the uncertainty hanging over the solar industry by coming up with a plan to safeguard around 30,000 jobs currently under threat from Ministers’ plans.

The environmental campaigning charity is calling on the Government to come up with a Plan B, including:

• Putting regulations before Parliament on Monday to enable solar tariff payments to be cut by the end of February – in a forward looking and planned way, in line with falling installation costs.
• Increasing the amount of money available to the scheme using the multi-million pound tax revenues generated by solar firms – this will safeguard the industry and enable more homes, businesses and communities to switch to clean energy.

Friends of the Earth Policy and Campaigns Director Craig Bennett said:

“By pushing through with this appeal Ministers have prolonged the uncertainty hanging over the solar industry – now they must urgently come up with a Plan B to safeguard the 30,000 jobs under threat.

“David Cameron should put a proposal before Parliament on Monday to cut solar subsidy rates before the end of February – and give the industry some much-needed certainty.

“More money could easily be found to save solar from the multi-million pounds in tax that solar firms generate.

“Win or lose the Government must breathe life back into UK solar to help more cash-strapped families free themselves from soaring fuel bills by plugging into clean British energy.”

I think DECC Ministers have failed to provide sufficient explanation and justification for the new proposals.

Climate change needs a strong plan, the government set an incentive after the scientists got caught fudging the figures our fight against global warming was left to the installers sales staff of renewable energy and then they pulled the rug because we sold too much.

The side effects are devastating as the global community may be near a point of no return in efforts to prevent catastrophe from changes in Earth’s atmosphere.

The biggest challenge is the EPC Level “C” requirement with a linear relationship between installations and job losses, a 92% reduction in uptake would lead to job losses of c23,000 and UK business losing value or simply going belly up!+

DECC say

“The Court of Appeal has not yet decided whether to give permission for an appeal or made a judgement on the FITs case. The Court will wrap up the decision on permission for an appeal and a possible judgement if an appeal is allowed in the next few weeks. Once the outcome is known we will consider our options and make an announcement on the way forward to provide clarity to consumers and industry.”

UK PLC Solar PV prices fall through the floor

The name of the game now is to guess which will be left standing

A glut of new capacity has left the Solar PV world with a problem

http://www.pvcrystalox.com/investor_relations/share_price_information/interactive_share_price_chart/

This delay leaves twenty thousand jobs or more in the balance

Never has a new industry faced a chasm as deep as the one that still yawns in front of the solar pv and renewables industry as ministers make a mess of fighting climate change.

SOURCE:

The Government’s proposals have already had a devastating impact. Countless planned clean energy schemes have been abandoned and thousands of jobs are under threat. In December construction firm Carillion warned 4,500 workers their jobs were at risk because of the Government’s proposals: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/01/carillion-job-cuts-solar-energy

http://www.pvcrystalox.com/investor_relations/share_price_information/interactive_share_price_chart/

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/govt_solar_challenge_13012012.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a992c2c-0af1-11e1-ae56-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1jQ5TGtWj

Government attempts appeal of lost solar court case

The appeal follows a winning case brought by Friends of the Earth alongside two solar companies in December.

The key question now is whether Government is allowed to change solar cash-back rates after they have been set.

Certainty

The success of the scheme depends on people knowing what their repayments will be for 25 years.

But if the Government’s appeal is successful, households and community projects installing solar panels today could see repayments changed at any stage – making projects potentially unworkable.

Great success

The ‘feed-in tariff’ scheme has been a huge success:

• More than 100,000 solar panel projects installed since April 2010
• Ten-fold increase in solar jobs in just 18 months

The Government’s actions are putting nearly 30,000 jobs at threat.

Construction firm Carillion recently warned 4,500 staff that their jobs are at risk because of the planned cuts.

This appeal prolongs uncertainty and further erodes industry and consumer confidence.

John Swinney, Director of Business Development, Carillion

The Government’s appeal could potentially cost taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.

Friends of the Earth believes that instead of pursuing their appeal – which last month a judge warned they have little chance of winning – the government should put solar back on its feet by:

• proposing a new system to reduce solar subsidies in line with falling costs
• topping up the scheme’s budget using tax money generated from solar jobs
• providing more support for community solar projects – not less as Government is planning.

Get involved

The Friends of the Earth legal effort needs your support. It’s part of our call for energy we can all afford.

Add your voice to the campaign.

SOURCE: http://www.foe.co.uk/news/solar_cut_case_appeal_34567.html

* Note that these are the current tariffs which we are not proposing changing and which, like all other current tariffs, will be adjusted in line with the Retail Price Index from 1 April 2012.

Possible 2012 FiT

Under the proposals, the new tariffs would apply to all new solar PV installations with an eligibility date on or after 12 December 2011. Such installations would receive the current tariff before moving to the lower tariffs on 1 April 2012. Consumers who already receive a FIT will see their existing payments unchanged, and those with an eligibility date on or before 11 December 2011 will receive the current rate.

Greg Barker ruins an industry 27th October 2011 Birmingham ICC

The challenge to appeal is a waste of money as the botched handling was indeed illegal and this will stick when returning to court Friday 13th January for another hearing.

Greg Barker is on track to publish his response to the consultation and its long-awaited comprehensive review of the feed-in tariff scheme by the end of January. They should have waited for this before acting like incompetent goons, causing boom and bust for the Solar industry.

The High Court had refused the government permission to appeal on the ground that it stood no ‘realistic’ prospect of success.

Friends of  the Earth report:

We win solar legal challenge

Along with two solar companies we took the Government to court over their plans to slash support for solar energy.

After two days in court the Judge ruled in our favour calling the Government’s plans “legally flawed”.

These botched and illegal plans have cast a huge shadow over the solar industry, jeopardising thousands of jobs.

We hope this ruling will prevent ministers rushing through damaging changes to clean energy subsidies – giving solar firms a much-needed confidence boost.

Andy Atkins, Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director

Illegal and unfair

Government proposed cutting the amount of cash-back – known as feed-in tariffs – for solar projects installed after 12 December.

But this date was 11 days before the official consultation on the plans closed.

The Judge agreed with Friends of the Earth that this approach was illegal.

Real-world impact

The Government’s proposals have already caused thousands of planned or unfinished solar projects to be shelved.

Can we save the Solar PV business?

Government must act

Following today’s ruling the Government must act now to get solar back on track by:

• Providing more money for feed-in tariffs.
• Supporting solar projects in schools and social housing.

REW_215-240-_Premium_Plusv2

As a previous Tory supporter I write in surprise about the way DECC has causes irrepairable damage to the whole renewable energy/energy efficiency market.

Having spent a couple of day as a marketeer with my company Netbods.net for REW of Dortmund on the phone as my first post Christmas activity I can report a general unease from Solar PV installers as it is expectedly much quieter post 12th December and without a clear route from DECC confidence has evapoated and all the sectors who were pinning their hopes on Green Deal to boost their finances are now scared to invest any time, effort or cash at this time.

Quiet frankly a few including myself are spending with hope that Green Deal will be our saviour. For those more risk averse – who can blame them?

Our previous Labour bunch also did costly U-turns and then made some pretty wild promises before handing over to this coalition government who continue to scrap policies at the drop of a hat and without any conscience to the mess they cause business and hardship to thousands of families connected to this sector .

Full marks to

Spirit Solar boss Erica Robb today challenged Prime Minister David Cameron over his handling of the recent Feed-in Tariff cuts.

This content is straight from Spirit Solar:

At a meeting of local business owners, Miss Robb today accused the Prime Minister of causing job losses in the solar energy industry with the cuts forcing her to make 30 redundancies the week before Christmas.

She branded the decision to give the industry just six weeks notice of the tariff reductions as “disgraceful”.

Yesterday the Government appealed a High Court ruling which saw cuts from 43.3p per kWh to 21p per kWh deemed “illegal”.

Confronting the Prime Minister, Miss Robb said: “Before Christmas we employed 80 people. We made 30 people redundant in the week before Christmas.

Spirit Solar installers’ just weeks before FiT cuts led to 30 redundancies

“This was following weeks of chaos caused by the short-notice cut done by your government to the feed-in tariffs.

“The High Court has ruled that the way you did that was unlawful and (the chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee) Tim Yeo has said it has undermined confidence, which you yourself have said is fundamental.

“Yet yesterday you lodged an appeal against the High Court decision twenty-five thousand people’s jobs rely on. How can you justify the appeal?”

David Cameron, who claims to support the industry, responded: “I know this has been extremely difficult. As a constituency MP, many businesses in my constituency have been affected in exactly the same way that you have.

“I’m afraid the government and the taxpayer and the bill-payer faced a really big problem which was that there was a feed-in tariff system set up under the last government that had very generous payments for people fitting solar panels to their roofs. I think that was a very good idea.

“The prices fell quite radically, in terms of the cost of solar panels, and so suddenly what was a reasonable tariff and a reasonable return for householders was looking like something that was much too generous – a 10% rate of return – and that was going to use up all the money that was set aside for years of this feed-in tariff.”

Following the meeting, Miss Robb was asked whether she thought the Government knew anything about running a company.

She responded: “A container [of solar panels] takes 12 weeks to arrive; planning permission takes 12 weeks. David Cameron has PR experience, not industry experience. He has not run an order book that runs out 12 weeks or more.”

05/01/2012

I agree politicians; of all 3 major political parties, need to wake up as they are totally out of touch with the electorate and Cameron cannot keep blaming everything on the previous Labour party whilst DECC ministers are effectively trying to kill off one of the very few market sectors that was booming in our failing economy.
If we do go back into recession this year the blame lies with Cameron, Barker and the rest of their coalition flunkies.

The way to escape from recession is SELL, SELL, SELL and the best way to sure the climate crisis is SELL, SELL, SELL and this also creates jobs. Please might we ask for a reasonable long lasting Green Deal campaign and then let the sales staff get some orders in the bag.

SOURCE:

http://www.spiritsolar.co.uk/challenge.php

http://rew-solar.co.uk/

http://netbods.co.uk/

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