Regressive changes that dismantle Spain’s groundbreaking Solar Power plans are threatening to drive many Solar Power pioneers into insolvency.  And now, people who spent a lot of time and money positioning themselves for the future of energy are now crying foul.

The government of conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy passed the legislation that goes into effect this year.  It not only lowers the rate the government will pay to people who installed Solar Power generating systems for sending power back into the grid;  it forces producers pay a charge on electricity they generate and use themselves.  Angry protesters are calling that the “Sun Tax”.

The legislation is a rewrite of the original deal that lured people into taking out loans to invest in Solar Power systems for their homes or businesses before the economic collapse.

“The law was drafted in a very sure way,” said Barcelona attorney Piet Holtrop, who is representing about 1,200 plaintiffs in a class-action suit against the conservative government.  “The people who invested gave it some thought.  They were not just putting their money into anything. I t was a sound investment.”

That’s not the only legal action against the Sun Tax – Several large investors have decided to take Spain to the World Bank’s arbitration agency, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.