Referral of the proposed Sizewell C Devex scheme by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report providing advice to DESNZ concerning its proposed Sizewell C Devex scheme.
Administrative timetable
| Date | Action |
| 17 June 2024 | SAU’s report to be published |
| 20 May 2024 | Deadline for receipt of any third-party submissions (submissions after 5pm on this date cannot be taken into account) |
| 3 May 2024 | Beginning of reporting period |
Request from DESNZ
3 May 2024: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) of the proposed Sizewell C Devex scheme. This request relates to a Subsidy Scheme of Particular Interest.
The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of DESNZ assessment of whether the scheme complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.
Information about the scheme provided by DESNZ
DESNZ is proposing to create a subsidy scheme that will enable the support of the proposed new nuclear power plant Sizewell C (SZC), by funding the Development Expenditure (Devex) of SZC until a Final Investment Decision (FID) can be entered into, currently targeted for later this year. SZC is a proposed two-unit 3.2 Gigawatt (GW) nuclear power station. The Devex Scheme will enable the SZC project to reach a FID and thereby ultimately reach operation.
DESNZ have referred a separate SZC FID Scheme which is designed to support construction, operation and decommissioning of SZC post-FID. The Devex Scheme would also be in addition to, and separate from, the existing SZC Investment Funding Scheme (SC10655).
This Devex Scheme will enable HMG (UK government) to make further equity injections and provide additional support to the project through other mechanisms to cover additional development expenditure costs up to and including FID, subject to appropriate Value for Money (VfM) assessments at the relevant time.
Funding for both the Devex and SZC Investment Funding Schemes is based on budgets for government investment in the project, previously agreed at the 2022 Spending Review.
SZC would sit adjacent to the existing Sizewell B plant and the decommissioned Sizewell A plant on the east coast of Suffolk, and is a near replica of the UK’s only under construction nuclear plant, Hinkley Point C, deploying the same French-designed EPR technology adapted for the UK. SZC would play a key role in UK Net Zero and energy security policy. In particular, it would provide low carbon electricity that supports delivery of the Net Zero objective at a low system cost as well as security of supply (through domestic generation) and energy system stability (by contributing to reliable, non-intermittent baseload capacity).
HMG has a legal obligation to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. To support this, carbon budgets place a restriction on the total amount of greenhouse gases the UK can emit over a 5-year period, to help achieve these targets, in the 2021 Net Zero Strategy (NZS), government committed to decarbonising the UK’s power sector by 2035, subject to ensuring continued security of supply. In line with this, nuclear energy features in both the NZS and the 2022 British Energy Security Strategy (BESS), in which government reiterated its 2020 Energy White Paper commitment to reach a FID on at least one new nuclear power plant by the end of this parliament, subject to VfM and all relevant approvals, and set an additional ambition of up to 24GW of nuclear capacity by 2050 potentially meeting up to 25% of the UK’s anticipated electricity demand. The Civil Nuclear Roadmap, published on 11 January 2024, set out further detail on the actions government will take to reach this ambition in collaboration with industry.
Information for third parties
If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning DESNZ proposed Sizewell C Devex scheme, please send your comments before 5pm on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Please send your submissions to us at: SAU-SizewellC-Devex@cma.gov.uk copying the public authority szcpublicenquiries@energysecurity.gov.uk
Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).
Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission
The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with DESNZ. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to DESNZ together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to create or modify the scheme or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with DESNZ using the email address provided above.
The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.
For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Contacts
- SAU project team: SAU-SizewellC-Devex@cma.gov.uk
- CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk