Friends of the Earth is taking the Government to court over its plans to slash financial incentives for households and communities that install solar electricity, the environmental campaigning charity confirmed today after Ministers failed to respond to concerns it set out in a legal letter last week.

Friends of the Earth wrote to Climate Change Minister Greg Barker on [Friday 4 November 2011] warning that unless the Government agreed to amend its proposals by 4pm today [Friday 11 November 2011] it would commence court proceedings. The Government failed to do so, sending instead a brief holding response indicating it didn’t believe the issues raised were urgent and therefore it didn’t intend to respond within the deadline.

The legal challenge follows the announcement earlier this month of Government plans to impose lower feed-in tariff payments – cash given to households generating green electricity through solar panels – on any installations completed after 12 December this year. The CBI has condemned the move as an “own goal” by Ministers.

Friends of the Earth says this cut-off point, two weeks before the consultation ends, is unlawful and has evidence that projects are already being abandoned and solar firm redundancies have either taken place or are being urgently considered.

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

“Ministers have failed to listen to our concerns about the legality of its plans to slash solar subsidies – we have now been left with no choice but to take the Government to court.

“Slashing payments to any scheme completed after 12 December will unfairly pull the plug on thousands of clean energy schemes across the UK, preventing homes and communities from escaping soaring fuel bills.

“Ministers have pulled the rug from under the feet of one of the few areas of the economy that is creating new jobs – and completely undermined business confidence in clean energy.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. 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: www.foe.co.uk/FinalDemand.

2. On Monday 31 October 2011 the Government launched a public consultation on plans to slash small-scale solar power subsidies by more than 50 per cent. http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn11_091/pn11_091.aspx

3.  The Government’s decision to slash solar funding was described by the CBI as an ‘own goal’ last night (Thursday 10 November 2011) http://www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/speeches/2011/11/john-cridlands-speech-to-cbi-east-midlands-annual-dinner/

4. Friends of the Earth says the Government’s actions are unlawful because:

It will unfairly cause the abandonment of numerous planned solar schemes that would have been completed between 12 December and April 2012;

The wording used in the Government proposals indicates there is little prospect that Ministers will keep an open mind about representations made while the consultation period is ongoing – something they are legally obliged to do.

5. 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 17th February 2012, at the earliest.

 6. Examples of solar energy projects that have either been scrapped or are in jeopardy are available from Friends of the Earth’s press office – please call 020 7566 1649/ 07712 843 209 for more information.