HYDERABAD: Renewable energy certificate (RECs) sales saw a notable rise in the month of January – 245 percent.
RECs were introduced for offering a convenient way for companies to meet green energy obligations. The activity on the REC front was so encouraging in the first month of the 2017 that 15.68 lakh RECs were sold against 4.54 lakh in December last year.
According to the regulations of Central and State Regulatory Commissions, power distribution companies, open access and captive consumers need to buy RECs from renewable energy producers, under renewable purchase obligations. Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL), both approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission hold auctions of RECs every month.
According to Renewable Energy Certificate Registry of India, the sale volume at the two exchanges in January was 15,68,192. While 12,87,814 RECs were sold through IEX, 2,80,378 RECs were sold through PXIL.
“With trade of 12.48 lakh RECs, the market has set an all-time high record predominantly on purchase by DISCOMs followed by Open Access Consumers and Captive Consumers.
Since the beginning of this fiscal, IEX has traded about 31 lakh RECs. REC volume trade saw an increase of over 412 percent over 2.51 lakh RECs traded in the previous month of the same fiscal,” said a press statement from IEX.Coming to PXIL, the total cleared volume on the exchange was 2,80,378 RECs that resulted in PXIL gaining a market share of 18 percent.