Northeast Cap & Trade Initiative’s 10th Auction Brings in $48.2 Million

If you’re not aware, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced “Reggie”), the first cap and trade system in the U.S. started on January 1, 2009, after about 6 years of discussions and preparation. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont participate in the initiative.

RGGI recently held its 10th regional auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances and, as you can see in the title, it brought in quite a bit of money for those 10 states. These states are (for the most part) using this money to help improve their energy infrastructure and the energy behavior of their citizens and businesses. “As with previous auctions, states are re-investing the proceeds from Wednesday’s auction in a wide variety of strategic energy programs to save consumers money, benefit the environment and build the clean-energy economies of the RGGI states,” RGGI reports.

Want more details on the auction? Here you go:

• “The offering of current control period CO2 allowances (2009-2011) in the auction yielded a total of $46,044,300 from the sale of 24,755,000 allowances;”
• 57% of current control period CO2 allowances were sold;
• “Electric generators and their corporate affiliates purchased 97 percent of the total number of current control period allowances sold;”
• similar percentages follow for a smaller number of CO2 allowances sold by some states for a future control period (2012-2014).

And, as I mentioned above, states are primarily using the money as they committed, on progressive energy programs.

Proceeds from the RGGI auctions now total more than $777.5 million, over 80 percent of which is being re-invested by states in strategic energy programs. While programs vary, overall, states are investing the majority of proceeds to realize energy savings in homes and businesses.

For more info on how states are using the money or on this most recent auction, check out RGGI’s news release.

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