Following two unsuccessful legal challenges in the High Court, the body that represents Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) participants in NI is preparing to take its case to the Court of Appeal.

A note circulated among Renewable Heat Association (RHANI) members on Tuesday states that the group’s legal team are ready to formally appeal the judgement from its last legal challenge.

In October, a High Court judge in Belfast dismissed the case which was taken forward by Ballymoney poultry farmer Tom Forgrave on behalf RHANI.

It challenged the second set of tariff cuts which were introduced in 2019 and saw annual payments for a standard 99kW biomass boiler reduce from £12,140 to £2,340.

A separate High Court case was also unsuccessful in December 2017.

This case surrounded the first set of cuts which came into effect earlier that year and involved the introduction of tiered tariffs and an overall payment cap.

According to RHANI executive chair Andrew Trimble, new legal challenges against both the 2017 and 2019 regulations will be heard together in the Court of Appeal.

“It is likely that they will be listed for a three-day hearing in early 2022,” he confirmed.