Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that energy development project special purpose vehicles cover the financial liability of decommissioning.

The Department operates a statutory scheme under the Energy Act 2004 to ensure that those responsible for constructing offshore energy installations are responsible for covering the financial liability of decommissioning.

Regardless of how an installation has been funded, financial securities are accrued to DESNZ during the lifespan of the installation. The process for this is set out in published Guidance for Industry.

In the case of Special Purpose Vehicles, each party involved will contribute their share of the costs, by acceptable means that are set out in the Guidance.