THE government has lost an appeal against a ruling its decision to slash solar feed-in-tariffs (FiT) was unlawful.
The Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the High Court the government acted improperly when it introduced the greatly reduced tariff on December 12.
The tariff is paid to homeowners and businesses who install solar panels to generate electricity, which is fed into the grid.
The decision to cut the tariff was blamed by solar companies for causing disappointment for many Island homeowners who hoped to take advantage of deals offered by solar energy installers.
Following the Court of Appeal decision on Wednesday, energy and climate change secretary, Chris Huhne, said the government would seek leave to appeal against the ruling at the Supreme Court.
Ray Harrington-Vail, of environmental group the Footprint Trust, said they hoped the judges would maintain the move was illegal.
"We felt the government was unfair in bringing forward the date for the changes to FiT, which meant many businesses could not complete the work within the new timescale.
"Businesses could face financial ruin as a result."
Reporter: ross.findon@iwcp.co.uk