Government now plans to reduce feed-in tariffs from March

New deadline for solar panel installation proposed after High Court rejected initial cut-off - but original date will go ahead if Government appeal is successful.

The Government has proposed a new date when it will reduce the amount people can earn from solar power feed-in tariffs (FiTs).

Under the new plans, homeowners must have had their installation approved by 2 March at the latest to be eligible to receive the current rate of 43.3p per kilowatt hour (p/kWh) of electricity generated. Otherwise, they will receive 21p p/kWH.

This new proposal follows a High Court ruling that the Government’s original plan to push through a deadline of 12 December for installations was “unlawful”. That ruling is currently being appealed by the Government. And the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) says it intends to revert to the original December date if the appeal is successful.

In a statement, the DECC said: “It is very important that we reserve [the December deadline] 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 high take-up for the scheme and the falling cost of solar panels led to the Government introducing a deadline for installation. But its decision was challenged by Friends of the Earth and two solar firms as that installation deadline was before a consultation into the changes closed.

The appeal verdict is expected in the next few weeks and the results of the consultation by 9 February.

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