Today we announced the launch of the World Green Exchange, a marketplace to buy or sell green power, RECs, VERs and carbon offsets. The full press release can be found here, but here are some of the news highlights:

Since 2003, World Energy has transacted nearly 1 billion kilowatt hours of green power over its award winning World Energy Exchange. Seeing the need for an auction platform for environmental commodities, World Energy has adapted its World Energy Exchange auction technology and proven process to create the World Green Exchange, which, in the past months, has successfully completed several pioneering transactions in the renewable energy, green credit and carbon markets space:

• Green power – A reverse auction for renewable energy yielded a 17 percent greening of the State of Connecticut’s overall energy portfolio, causing the EPA to cite the state government as one of the greenest in the country.
• Renewable Energy Certificates – For a Midwest utility, World Energy sourced RECs at an 8% discount to the utility’s price target.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificates - MMA Renewable Ventures ran a forward auction for 1500 solar renewable energy certificates, earning a premium over prevailing bid-ask prices.
• Voluntary Emission Reductions-Atmosclear, an organization committed to providing offsets to help consumers and businesses reduce their contribution to global warming, was able to sell 75,000 metric tonnes of VERs at a 20% premium in a forward auction
• Carbon emission compliance-Verdant Energy, a leading Canadian power supplier, auctioned off 80,000 metric tonnes of carbon offsets under the recently established Alberta Offset System-the first compliance-based auction of carbon offsets in North America. The forward auction yielded a price significantly higher than prices quoted to Verdant before the auction.

Point Carbon discusses the announcement with a focus on the increased results yielded with an online auctions process as opposed to bilaterally-brokered transactions, bid-ask exchanges or paper RFPs. The article also looks to the recent Alberta auction as one of the World Green Exchange’s recent successes.

We’d love to hear your thoughts regarding the exchange.

Reuters looks at the $10 billion pledge from U.S. institutional investors to go, over the next two years, toward technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to have companies disclose risks associated with climate change.

The Houston Chronicle looks at the new energy bill that House Democrats are planning on introducing. The bill will extend tax credits for renewable and clean energy programs in order to encourage wind and solar power as well as the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles. To offset these credits the bill also proposes changing the manufacturer’s deduction for oil companies and repealing tax deductions outright for the major integrated oil companies.

Another Reuters article discusses Bank of America’s creation of an environmental banking group, which is set to finance ways to conserve and reduce global warming. The announcement comes at the same time as the company’s CEO, Kenneth Lewis, called on Congress to create a carbon cap-and-trade program.

With New Hampshire still debating on if and how to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the Nashua Telegraph takes a further look at RGGI and the regulations the initiative will put into place. The first RGGI auction is scheduled for June 2 with New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine participating, but New Hampshire is still debating based partly on the probable increase in electric rates. However, that increase may be offset by rebates and/or conservation.

Today we announced a very successful auction held for Verdant Energy. The full press release can be found here, but we wanted to give you some of the highlights:

Verdant, a leading Canadian power supplier, auctioned off Carbon Offsets, or “green credits” under the recently established Alberta Offset System.

By leveraging the World Energy platform and working with Baseline Emissions Management, Verdant was able to sell its green credits to an online community of buyers. Verdant had previous indications that the value for its credits would be less than its desired benchmark price, and were very satisfied with the outcome of the quick and profitable auction.

• As one of the largest regulated greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) markets in North America, Alberta is requiring large emitters to reduce emissions by 12% before March 31, 2008 or face financial penalties.
• To facilitate compliance, emitters have the option to pay into Alberta’s climate change Technology Fund for $15 per Tonne.
• World Energy conducted six separate auction tranches, culminating in more than 80 bids.
• Three of the eight bidders were awarded a total of 80,000 Tonnes, resulting in a significant savings over what they would have had to pay into the Technology Fund.

We would love to hear your comments concerning this pioneering event and we will keep you up to date on industry reactions throughout the rest of the week.

This has been a very busy week for the green exchange industry. Today we actually announced the industry’s first online auction for Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs). We won’t repeat all the info here, you can read the full release if you wish. The highlight of the auction:

• Sold 25,000 metric tons of verified emissions reductions across three vintages – 2006, 2007, 2008
• Sold for 29 percent over the established benchmark price

It is always exciting to see our World Green Exchange involved in these types of ‘firsts’, in the history of the exchange there have been other exciting moments including the State of Connecticut saving $18M, the first ever solar REC auction and others.

At the same time we are seeing more folks entering the ‘green exchange’ industry, which in our minds validates what we’ve been doing and the more then 700 million kWh of green power and RECs we’ve already seen traded on our exchange. The question is where is the industry headed and who will lead the pack?

Where do you see the exchange market for green energy and credits going? What will 2008 bring? Would love to hear your thoughts and compile them into another post.

-Rick