The U.K.'s Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on the Department of Energy & Climate Change's (DECC) recent appeal regarding solar feed-in tariffs (FITs). Earlier this month, the DECC filed paperwork to appeal the court's previous ruling that the agency's PV FIT reduction schedule was illegal.
‘The court will wrap up the decision on permission for an appeal and a possible judgment if an appeal is allowed in the next few weeks,’ the DECC said in a statement. ‘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.’
For companies active in the U.K.'s solar market, the lack of a decision today from the court extends the uncertainty that has taken hold.
‘This is a frustrating result for many companies in the solar PV industry who were hoping for some clarity today,’ said Clare King, a renewable energy lawyer at Osborne Clarke, in a statement released by the law firm. ‘The judges clearly understand the need to get this issue resolved and have said that they will try to get the decision out by 9 February. In the meantime, all companies and investors can do is sit tight and wait.’
The law firm added that ‘all indications are that leave to appeal will be granted.’ Leave to appeal, however, does not necessarily mean that the court's previous ruling – which deemed the FIT cuts illegal – will be overturned.
