RGGI Auction Price Rises 45 Percent in First Auction Since Strengthening Its Cap on Carbon Pollution
March 15, 2013
In its first auction since tightening its cap on carbon pollution, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) raised a total of $105.9 million for nine participating states to reinvest in projects such as energy efficiency, renewable energy development, greenhouse gas abatement, and climate change adaptation.
Allowances were sold for $2.80 each at the March 13 auction, a 45 percent increase in the selling price in the previous four auctions resulting from the regional initiative's decision to lower its cap on carbon pollution by 45 percent. The $2.80 allowance price was $0.82 above the minimum auction price.
The latest auction, RGGI’s nineteenth, also marked significant increases in the percentage of allowances purchased, the number of bidders, and the ratio of bids to supply. For the first time since March 2011, all of the allowances offered for sale (37.8 million) were purchased.