Renewable energy certificates' trading volumes soar in Mar:IEX

Reversing the sluggish trend, the trading volume of renewable energy certificates more than doubled to 3.7 lakh on the Indian Energy Exchange this month.
The volume is also the highest recorded since the inception of REC (Renewable Energy Certificate) market, the exchange said.
The trading volumes, including solar and non-solar RECs, jumped to 3,69,053 in March compared to just 1,83,923 registered in February.
Out of the total volumes seen this month, 3,61,842 non-solar and 7,211 solar certificates were traded on the exchange.
Non-solar ones were cleared at a price of Rs 1,500 each, while solar certificates were sold for Rs 9,300 apiece.

REC trading session, held yesterday, recorded the highest- ever trade and participation, "surpassing all figures since the inception of the REC market," IEX said in a statement today.

However, supply continued to outstrip demand for RECs in March. While sale bids stood at more than 30.25 lakh, the purchase bids were just over 3.69 lakh.
These certificates are used as instruments to help entities meet the Renewable Purchase Obligation set by states. One REC is equivalent to 1 MWh of energy generated from renewable sources.
As many as 1,284 participants traded in the latest session, with 902 participating in the non-solar segment.

"In FY'13, a total of 43 lakh RECs were issued, of which 26 lakh RECs were bought... In FY'14, a total of 65 lakh RECs were issued, of which 28 lakh RECs were bought," the statement noted.
Trading session for RECs is held on the last Wednesday of every month.