Czech Republic wins case against solar PV investors

Czech Republic wins case against solar PV investors

The Czech government has won the first of seven investment treaty cases against international investors in solar photo-voltaic (PV) power plants, as reported today in Global Arbitration Review. Wynne Jones, Director in Frontier’s Energy practice, was engaged by the Czech government to provide expert testimony in this case.

In 2005, the Czech Republic introduced a feed in tariff for electricity generated from solar PV plants, to help support increased use of solar PV in the generation mix. Subsequently, solar PV development costs fell below the level of the feed in tariff causing a surge in investment. The case concerned a set of measures then introduced, including a tax on electricity generated from solar PV plants, and whether the measures breached the investors’ legitimate expectations. The Czech Government argued that the measures in this particular case did not violate investors’ legitimate expectations and represented a reasonable response to a crisis.

Frontier regularly provides expert testimony in energy sector investor state and commercial arbitrations.

For more information, please contact media@frontier-economics.com or call +44 (0) 20 7031 7000