We are not convinced that government is providing enough clarity to the private sector to attract the investment that is necessary to build infrastructure, spur innovation and drive competition to lower costs. Government estimates that hundreds of billions of pounds in public and private investment will be needed to decarbonise the power sector, and private investment will be a major component of that. The Department considers that the UK has the market mechanisms, business models and regulation to provide investor confidence. Recently, in what the Department considers a signal to the sector, the Chancellor announced in the Spring Budget £20 billion for carbon capture, usage and storage. However, this technology is untested at scale in the UK, and this Committee has seen how previous government attempts to get it off the ground have failed repeatedly. The Department also points to competitions for contracts for difference as key to driving innovation in offshore wind, reducing expectations of its cost in 2025 from £125 per megawatt hour in 2012 to £50 today. It considers that the regularity of contract for difference auctions provides certainty to investors. However, government changes and policy inconsistency erode investor confidence and increase the cost of capital. Recommendation 3: The Department should set out in the delivery plan due later this year how it will provide greater clarity to the private sector to encourage the investment it needs to decarbonise the power sector.