2009 Vintage Allowances Sold at a Clearing Price of $3.23; 2012 Vintage Allowances Sold at a Clearing Price of $2.06

(New York, N.Y.) – The states participating in the first-in-the-nation cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases conducted their fourth regional auction of carbon allowances Wednesday, June 17th, raising $104.2 million for investment in the clean energy economy.  Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), these ten partnering states hold quarterly allowance auctions and invest the proceeds in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other programs that benefit energy consumers and create green jobs.

All of the 30,887,620 allowances for the 2009 vintage offered in Wednesday’s auction sold at a price of $3.23. Potomac Economics, the RGGI independent market monitor, found participation in the 2009 offering to be robust with 54 separate entities submitting bids to purchase 2.6 times the available supply of 2009 allowances. Compliance entities and their affiliates purchased 85 percent of the 2009 allowances offered.

In a parallel offering, the RGGI states also auctioned allowances for the second three-year control period beginning January 1, 2012. All of the 2,172,540 allowances for the 2012 vintage sold at a price of $2.06 with 13 entities submitting bids to purchase 1.5 times the available supply of 2012 allowances. Compliance entities and their affiliates purchased 81 percent of the 2012 allowances offered.

“RGGI’s reliable auction process continues to set an example for the nation,” said Pete Grannis, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Chair of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. Board of Directors.  “RGGI proves that auction-based cap-and-trade works, and can lead us to a new economy with green jobs, a clean energy infrastructure and a better environment.”

The states have now auctioned more than 110 million allowances and raised a total of $366.5 million since the first RGGI auction in September of 2008. The states are investing RGGI proceeds in energy efficiency, renewable energy, technology development and other consumer benefit programs. Overall, the states are investing the vast majority of proceeds in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

“Energy efficiency is the most important step that can be taken now to reduce and manage energy demand while we diversify our energy supply with clean alternatives,” said Clifton Below, a Commissioner of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.  “For example, energy audits leading to weatherization, including air sealing and improved insulation and equipment efficiency, provide enormous opportunities to immediately reduce emissions and engage with low-income families to improve the health and safety of their homes and ease rising energy costs.”

Across the region, state energy efficiency programs are engaging municipalities, electric utilities, homeowners, businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Funds are being used to weatherize low-income homes, hire and train energy efficiency auditors, deploy combined heat and power and district heating and cooling systems, subsidize energy efficiency improvements for small businesses, educate contractors about energy efficiency and other initiatives.

According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), energy efficiency is the lowest-cost means of reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Efficiency programs typically spend about 3 cents to save a kilowatt hour of electricity that would otherwise cost between 6 and 19 cents to produce by fossil-fuel fired power plants. State programs are showing similar cost savings, with many RGGI states finding a greater than 2:1 benefit for every dollar invested in energy efficiency.

“The states are putting the new resources generated by RGGI auctions to work saving money for their citizens and reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the environment,” said Laurie Burt, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. “We look forward to working with the Obama Administration to engage all states and all regions in the effort to transition to a clean energy economy.”

The complete Market Monitor Report for Auction 4 is available at: http://www.rggi.org/docs/Auction_4_News_Release_MM_Report.pdf

About the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
The 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states participating in RGGI (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) have designed the first market-based, mandatory cap-and-trade program in the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Power sector CO2 emissions are capped at current levels through 2014. The cap will then be reduced by 2.5 percent in each of the four years 2015 through 2018, for a total reduction of 10 percent.

A CO2 allowance represents a limited authorization to emit one ton of CO2, as issued by a respective participating state. A regulated power plant must hold CO2 allowances equal to its emissions to demonstrate compliance at the end of each three-year compliance period. The first compliance period for fossil fuel-fired electric generators under the 10-state CO2 Budget Trading Programs took effect on January 1, 2009 and extends through December 31, 2011. For more information about RGGI turn to: www.rggi.org

About Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc.
RGGI, Inc. was created in September 2007 to provide technical and administrative services to the states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI, Inc. is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization. For more information about RGGI, Inc. please visit: www.rggi.org/rggi

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