PROVIDENCE – The nine New England and Mid-Atlantic states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Inc. auctioned 13.7 million carbon dioxide allowances at its 40th auction at a clearing price of $4.02, RGGI announced Friday, bringing a total of $55.4 million to the states for use in energy efficiency, renewable energy, direct bill assistance and greenhouse-gas abatement programs.
Of the total, Rhode Island received just over $1 million in proceeds, bringing the total that the state has received to $61.6 million. Most of the total has been invested in energy efficiency programs as well as supporting the development of the clean-energy industry.
The other eight states received these amounts in auction proceeds from the 40th auction:
- Connecticut, $4 million
- Delaware, $2.8 million
- Maine, $2.1 million
- Maryland, $10.4 million
- Massachusetts, $9.8 million
- New Hampshire, $3.4 million
- New York, $21.4 million
- Vermont, $445,565
Sinice the beginning of the program in 2008, the participating states (which at one point also included New Jersey) have earned a total of $2.9 billion in auction proceeds.
“The RGGI states’ quarterly auctions provide allowances to market participants, while also generating proceeds for the states to reinvest in a cleaner and more cost-effective energy system,” stated Ben Grumbles, secretary of the Md. Department of the Environment and chair of the RGGI Inc. board of directors.
In this auction, there were just over 3 bids for every allowance from a pool of 43 bidders. All of the regular allowances offered at the auction were purchased. Ten million cost containment reserve allowances were also available but not sold. The CCR is a fixed additional supply of allowances that are only available if the allowance price exceeds certain price levels, ($10.25 in 2018).
In other news, on Monday, RGGI also issued a Request for Proposal for an auction services contractor. The contractor will have to provide pre-auction service, auction implementation services and post-auction services at a minimum.
Responses are due by 5 p.m. on July 23. More details can be found on the RGGI website. A selection will be announced in October, if any responses are chosen. The first live auction under the contract would occur in June 2019.
