The group representing owners of biomass boilers accredited under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has begun legal action over proposed new cuts to RHI tariffs.

A legal challenge to stop the relevant bill from being fast-tracked through parliament was filed by Ballymoney poultry producer, Tom Forgrave, on behalf of the Renewable Heat Association for NI (RHANI).

In the High Court in Belfast on Wednesday, Mr Justice McCloskey adjourned the matter until 4 April when the bill is likely to have passed through parliament and become law. At that point, a timeline for legal action over the new cuts to RHI tariffs is expected to be set out.

The bill was brought forward by NI Secretary of State Karen Bradley and was debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon.

The proposed cuts are set to reduce annual payments for a standard 99kW boiler from £13,420 to £2,210.

Since the proposals were announced last week, RHANI members have been lobbying political representatives over the financial pressure that further cuts to the previously guaranteed tariff rates will bring to businesses.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has also lobbied on the issue, and a UFU delegation met with advisers to Secretary of State Karen Bradley on Monday.

According to UFU deputy president Victor Chestnutt, the proposals are “outrageous and unacceptable”, and he said the cuts would “cripple farm businesses in the RHI scheme”.

“They [scheme participants] are being abandoned and are paying the price for the utter failure of civil servants and politicians,” he said.

Meanwhile, RHANI executive chair Andrew Trimble told the Farmers Journal that individuals and organisations with interests in other renewable technologies have also voiced concerns about cuts to RHI tariffs.

“They see the cuts to biomass and are worried that wind, solar or AD could be next,” he maintained.

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