The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has refused to rule out further legal action if it fails to win an appeal tomorrow over its plans to rush through deep cuts to solar subsidies, potentially prolonging uncertainty over the future of the feed-in tariff scheme.

Court of Appeal judges will tomorrow morning decide if DECC can appeal against a High Court ruling, which last month declared that plans to effectively halve feed-in tariff incentives for installations completed after 12 December 2011 were unlawful.

Climate minister Greg Barker has consistently argued that an accelerated timetable for cutting solar incentives was necessary to prevent the feed-in tariff scheme exceeding its budget, even if that meant changes to the scheme would come into effect before the official consultation on the proposed reforms closed on 23 December.

According to Friends of the Earth, one of the parties leading the legal action against the government, the court will tomorrow decide whether to allow DECC to appeal against the original court decision. If it does, it will also pass judgment on the appeal.

However, it remains unclear whether tomorrow’s ruling will provide the solar industry with the clarity it is seeking over the future of feed-in tariff levels.

Barker confirmed last week that if DECC wins the appeal it will reinstate the 12 December effective cut-off date for the higher incentive rate, subject to the results of the consultation.

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