In the November 2019 renewable energy certificate (REC) trading session, there was a significant decrease in the number of solar and non-solar RECs that were traded when compared with the preceding month.

A total of 54,453 solar RECs were traded on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL) together. A total of 36,801 and 17,652 solar RECs were traded on the IEX and PXIL, respectively. These RECs were traded at ₹2,400 (~$33.9)/REC, and the price remained unchanged on both the trading platforms.

In October 2019, Mercom reported that RECs were at a record high price of ₹2,400 (~$33.9)/REC.

According to the IEX, the increase in REC prices lately has mainly been due to the shortfall on the REC inventory, which has been continuing since March 2019.

The number of solar RECs traded in November 2019 was down by around 45% when compared with the numbers traded on the IEX and PXIL in October 2019.

On the IEX and PXIL, a total of 451,220 non-solar RECs issued after April 1, 2017, were traded. On the IEX, 291,932 non-solar RECs were traded at the rate of ₹1,800 (~$25)/REC. This was ₹150 (~$2.12)/REC more than the rate at which it was traded on the IEX in the previous month.

On the PXIL, 159,288 non-solar RECs were traded at a rate of ₹1,850 (~$25)/REC; this was again an increase of ₹200 (~$2.12)/REC when compared with the price of these RECs in October 2019.

Buy bids continue to outpace sale bids for solar and non-solar RECs as the supply side of the REC market continues to languish.

An executive from IEX commented on the trend saying, “With buy bids doubling the amount of sell bids on an average, the situation of the REC trading market has not changed in the past nine months. REC inventories remain low, which is not healthy for the market.”

In June 2019, Mercom reported that India’s REC inventory was almost exhausted.

Since 2017, there has been a significant increase in the purchase of RECs due to stricter norms regarding Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) compliance. Before that, entities were not actively buying RECs. As these entities started buying late, there is now a demand and supply gap that does not appear to be subsiding.