MP Welcomes Solar Panel High Court Ruling

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has welcomed a High Court ruling made today which said that solar panel subsidy cuts are “legally flawed”.

The ruling was made this afternoon after a number of organisations made a legal challenge against the government’s plans to halve the feed-in tariff for solar power.

It could give fresh hope to Wrexham Council’s plans to fit photovoltaic panels on 3,000 of their residential properties.

The council has been working with contractors around the clock in recent weeks to get as many properties fitted with the panels before the proposed change in tariff rate.

The tariff sets the amount which people who have solar panels receive for the power they generate for the National Grid and the government recently announced it would halve the amount people received from 43.3p to 21p.

At the time councillors said that they felt the announcement had “pulled the carpet from underneath them”.

The government intended for the change to take effect on Monday of last week, December 12, even though consultation on the plans does not close until this Friday.

However, today the High Court has ruled that the proposals were “legally flawed” opening the door for a judicial review which would force the government to delay its decision, potentially enabling thousands more people to claim the higher subsidy.

Last month solar panel producer Sharp Solar, which has a factory in Wrexham, announced that it was reviewing its UK presence as a result of the proposed tariff changes.

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas said: “We have been telling the government their plans are flawed for months. I raised the problems with them with the Prime Minister back in June. I raised them again with the Wales Office in October, and I raised them when the minister finally confirmed the detailed proposals to the Commons.

“Only last week, I met with solar installers from across Wales at Westminster all of whom wanted to highlight the flaws in the government proposals to ministers.

“Today’s judgement confirms the plans are not only flawed in what they hope to achieve, but also flawed legally.

“It will also be interesting to see what impact this judgement may have upon Wrexham Council’s plans for solar installations on their properties.”