Blog & News

On Wednesday 25th January 2012 the DECC lost their appeal against the tariff rates and have since announced their intention for further appeal. The court of appeal haven’t yet granted the DECC permission for further appeal but they are seeking direct permission from the Supreme Court in which to do so.

Should they be granted leave to appeal and become successful it could take up to a year before the final outcome is known. This appeal could also mean that they will be able to legislate to apply new tariff from the 12th December reference date.

Oh the uncertainty.

This uncertainty of not being able to guarantee either tariff rate (reduced rate at 21p kwh or last year’s higher rate of 43.3p kwh) on installations made between 12 December 2011 and 3rd March 2012, means that installers cannot correctly promote their services and homeowners are less confident about installing panels when they are less certain about the return of investment.

Delaying the outcome of the case could cause further damage to the industry due to the negative hype they’re continuing to create. The government are very keen not to give away 43.3p kwh as they simply cannot afford it so are trying their best to put off other buyers & installers off solar for selfish reasons until the next consultation on 3rd March 2012.

In an announcement by the DECC and in their formal response to question 1 of the consultation they have however confirmed that tariff rates will be no lower than 21p kwh from 1st April 2012 even if they government win their appeal.

Homeowners should be jumping at the chance to get involved as they may potentially be eligible to receive the higher rate of 43.3p kWh should the government lose their appeal. They have already lost twice so it might just be worth the gamble.

imagesource@solarpowerportal

Towards the end of the year we blogged about how the government cuts to the feed in tariff had been ruled unlawful. At the time the government were not given leave to appeal but they then proceeded to do just that. However 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 ruling back in 2011

So what does this mean?

There is still some confusion about what happens now. Essentially the feed-in tariff will increase back to 43.3p for system installed on or before March 3, 2012. It also means that for many people who had solar PV systems installed since the original proposed cut off date of 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. Installations completed and registered on or after March 3 will qualify for the current higher rate until April 1, at which point the rates will drop to 21p. **(See update below)

The decision is likely to lead to another period of frantic activity and installations for many in the industry. The original announcement was made back in November and provided just over 1 month for installers to complete their installations. As a result more PV installation were completed in November than for previous months in 2011.

Many in the industry see this decision as a victory for common sense and justice:

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.

It is right that the government be held accountable for their actions and the way in which rash decision and actions impact on industry. However what the industry really needs now and in the future is stability. Hopefully the ruling will help towards this. Greg Barker said it best when he tweeted:

“Win, lose or draw today, important we move forward together, drive down costs + step up deployment.”

This is and will be the key aim for the industry moving forwards.

**UPDATE: 12.30pm: The government within the last hour has confirmed they intend to appeal this decision. As such this again throws uncertainty over whether or not PV installations will qualify for the higher tariff despite the fact it is highly unlikely the government will win this appeal.

Apprenticeships are a great alternative to those put off by the 9k annual price tag of today’s university degree; Trade Skills 4U explains why...

Since Education Minister, David Willets announced an increase in university tuition fees in 2010, students considering further education have been forced to contemplate cheaper alternative routes. In a new push for apprenticeships in 2012, Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg is calling to parents to be more supportive over these alternatives. “Apprenticeships are the gold standard of post-16 vocational education" and "parents should be as proud of their children for securing a top apprenticeship as they are if they go to university.”

Whilst degrees will always be a very valuable qualification, the annual £9,000 tuition fees, the battle with rising living costs and the very possible outcome of unemployment lurking at the end of it all has begun to steer students away from this educational route. This year has already seen an 8% decrease in university applications as UCAS, ‘Universities and Colleges Admissions Service,’ recently reported that 283,680 people that have applied to university from within UK compared to the 306,908 who applied last year.

Since the costly tuition fee increase, alternative education options such as ‘apprenticeships’ are being thoroughly explored by prospective students looking to further their learning. Such terms have seen over a 100% increase in online searches since the initial announcement concerning university tuition fees from Willets back in November 2010.

Please see Google Insight research on term 'apprenticeship' below:

Whereas online search activity for the term 'University' has suffered a slow decrease in search. See below:

“Apprenticeships have always been a big part of Britain and it’s great that the idea of taking an apprenticeship still has such great appeal,” says Carl Bennett, Director of Trade Skills 4U. “Apprenticeships can be excellent routes into an industry as they combine the theory elements of a course with the important practical side; it is this key ingredient that degrees generally miss.” Mr Bennett is the Director of Britain’s Premier Electrical Training Company who currently hold three apprenticeship courses from two of the UK’s Leading qualification bodies; City & Guilds and EAL.

“Many still regard the apprenticeship as the best route into work combining technical education with practical experience helping to enable business and industries to acquire skilled labour. It has added appeal today because it soaks up the growing fears of entrenched youth unemployment as the effects of the recession continue to be felt and the unskilled are left further behind.”

“We’re holding FREE taster days during National Apprenticeship week for young people aged between 16 – 19 years old. We’ve almost sold out on these free places, so young people who are interested need to give us a call if their interested on 01293 529777. These electrical taster days aim to give young people a sample of the industry by detailing what is involved in an electrical career plus some practical training to help you decide if this is right career for you - It’s a great way of test driving a potential new career.

Click here to book your spaces or you can call our team to find our more on 01293 529777. 

www.tradeskills4u.co.uk.

Imagesource@myhammer.co.uk