The UK Government has confirmed it is to appeal last month's High Court ruling that proposed changes to the Feed-in Tariff were unlawful.
Court papers have been lodged with the Court of Appeal today although permission has yet to be granted to allow the case to be heard.
No decision is expected before January 11, which marks the end of the current Christmas recess.
Even if the Government is refused permission to appeal, it can still apply to the Supreme Court and delay the process even further.
In a statement released this afternoon, A DECC spokesperson said: “We have lodged grounds of appeal with the Court of Appeal. We hope that permission will be granted for an appeal and that we can secure a hearing as soon as possible so that we can provide clarity for consumers and industry on the way forward following the consultation.
“The High Court’s decision was based on the view that the proposed approach to implementing new tariffs for solar PV is inconsistent with the FIT scheme’s statutory purpose of encouraging small-scale low-carbon electricity generation.
“We disagree with this for a number of reasons. The overriding aim of the proposed reduction in tariffs for solar PV (as set out in the recent consultation) is to ensure that over the long term as many people as possible are encouraged to install small scale low-carbon generation (including other technologies as well as solar PV) and benefit from the funding available for the FIT scheme.
“Without an urgent reduction in the current tariffs, which give a very generous return, the budget for the scheme would be severely depleted and there would be very little available for future solar PV generators, or for other technologies. Our view is that the urgent steps we have proposed to protect the scheme for the future are fully consistent with the scheme’s statutory purpose.
“We have also made the point that the judicial review was premature as no decision has yet been taken, and a decision will only be taken after a full analysis of the responses to the consultation.”
The Government's legal appeal bid has been criticised by Friends of the Earth, which says the move could potentially cost the taxpayer a huge amount of money.
The green campaigning charity said the Government must introduce a clear plan to reduce solar power payments in line with falling installation costs, rather than prolonging industry uncertainty and jeopardising jobs by pursuing an expensive legal appeal.
Following a legal challenge by Friends of the Earth and two solar firms Solarcentury and HomeSun just before Christmas, the High Court ruled that the Government's plans to rush through sudden cuts to solar payments - before its own consultation had ended - were illegal.
The court refused permission for an appeal on the basis that the Government has no realistic prospect of winning.
Jeremy Leggett, Chairman of Solarcentury, said: “It's disappointing that the Secretary of State has plunged the solar industry into a further period of uncertainty by going to appeal. DECC should not be using the appeal process to prolong the uncertainty which they have created with their illegal proposal. They must know that their prospects of success are slim."
He added: "Whatever DECC’s official statement says about the statutory purpose of the Feed in Tariffs and the Energy Act, it can’t hide the fact that they completely ignored the required Parliamentary procedure for their proposal.
"The Secretary of State can’t set a cut-off date which takes effect before Parliament has finished considering his proposal. That’s an illegal proposal. And DECC can’t keep trying to claim the 12 December cut-off date is 'just a proposal'.
"As the High Court said, the 12 December date is not 'just a proposal' it is an executive action with immediate economic effect and so, the High Court was right to judicially review it.
"Obviously we hope the Court of Appeal will confirm this quickly and DECC will get on with
resolving the consultation process and all the uncertainty which they have created for the solar industry."
Friends of the Earth is also calling on Ministers to reduce tariff rates in a planned way from February 2012 to protect jobs, and to increase the overall budget for the feed-in tariff to allow more people - including poorer households and community groups - to benefit from solar power. The group says this is possible without any additional cost to bill payers because of the increased tax revenue the scheme is generating.
Friends of the Earth's Head of Campaigns Andrew Pendleton said: "The Government's illegal cuts to solar tariff rates have near-crippled an industry and threatened thousands of jobs.
"Trying to appeal the High Court's ruling is an expensive waste of taxpayers' money - the court says the Government has no realistic chance of winning, and it will prolong uncertainty among solar companies just when they need reassurance.
"Ministers should accept the High Court's decision and end business uncertainty and protect jobs with a clear plan to reduce payments from February, in line with falling installation costs.
"The Government must expand the scheme overall - with all the tax revenue the scheme generates, this can be done at no extra cost to bill payers."
Mike Johns-Turner, South West around 4 months, 2 weeks ago