This week’s auction of greenhouse gas allowances by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) marked the 18th in that organization’s history.  According to the market monitor report published today, only 53% (19.7 million) of the 37.5 million allowances offered for sale by the 9 state group sold at the required floor price of $1.93, all to electric generators regulated by the carbon dioxide-capping program.  Participation in the auction remained low at 29 bidders, consistent with the prior auction held in September, but among the lowest RGGI has experienced in the last 4 years.

Since RGGI’s first auction in September 2008, the organization has brought in nearly $1.2 billion in auction proceeds, most of which has been used to fund the member-states’ renewable energy, energy efficiency and consumer benefit programs.  A recent report found that, from 2009 to 2011, such investments channeled over $117 million into the region’s clean energy economy and generated an estimated $1.3 billion in lifetime energy bill savings for utility customers.