An Eastern regional auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances on March 13 raised $105.9m and saw a clearing price of $2.80. This marks the 19th auction for the Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
Roughly 37.83m CO2 allowances were sold at the auction, at a clearing price of $2.80, according to a statement from RGGI.
The auction generated $105.9m for reinvestment by the RGGI states in a variety of consumer benefit initiatives, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, direct bill assistance, greenhouse gas abatement, and climate change adaptation programs.
Allowances sold represent 100% of the allowances offered for sale by the nine states. Bids for the CO2 allowances ranged from $1.98 to $5.03 per allowance.
There were 42 bidders in the latest auction and more than two-thirds of them were compliance entities and their affiliates, according to RGGI.
Since the RGGI auctions commenced in 2008, they have generated more than $1.22bn in proceeds. The next RGGI auction is scheduled June 5.
There are nine Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states participating in RGGI. There were 10 before New Jersey withdrew last year.
On Feb. 7, after a comprehensive two-year program review, the RGGI states released an Updated Model Rule and Program Review Recommendations Summary. The Updated Model Rule will guide the RGGI states as they follow state-specific statutory and regulatory processes to propose updates to their CO2 Budget Trading Programs.
RGGI’s market monitor recently released a report on the secondary market for CO2 allowances.
