New Jersey's cap-and-trade program successful

by: Hopeful

Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 05:05:20 PM EDT

On March 12, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative announced the results of the latest auction (PDF):

The states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) today announced the results of the first quarterly auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances in 2010. The auction, held Wednesday, March 10th, yielded $87,956,944.56 for investment in the clean energy economy.

All of the 40,612,408 CO2 allowances for the first three-year control period (2009-2011) offered in Wednesday's auction sold at a price of $2.07.

In a parallel offering, the RGGI states also auctioned CO2 allowances for the second three-year control period (2012-2014). A total of 2,091,000 of the 2,137,992 CO2 allowances for the second control period sold at a price of $1.86. Unsold allowances may be sold in future auctions according to each state's regulations.

Proceeds from all auctions held to date now total more than $582.3 million. States are investing proceeds to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies, creating thousands of jobs.

I don't have New Jersey's share of the proceeds (Delaware made $2 million), but according to law New Jersey's share is invested as follows:

  *  60 percent of proceeds to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) for end-use energy efficiency, combined heat and power, and renewable energy project loans and grants in the commercial, institutional, and industrial sectors.
   * 20 percent of proceeds to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to support programs to reduce electricity costs or electricity demand for low- and moderate-income residential electricity customers.
   * 20 percent of proceeds to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to support local government programs to implement greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures (10%) and programs to enhance forest stewardship and tidal marsh restoration that provide important opportunities to sequester carbon (10%).