Of the seven deregulated wholesale energy markets and two regulated regions in the continental United States, the market served by Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)¹ was ranked most favorable to renewable energy procurements, according to the most recent Altenex Market Report, the industry's most comprehensive analysis of renewables supply and transaction economics.

Altenex, an Edison Energy Company, is the nation's leading independent advisor to non-utility energy users on renewable energy strategy, goal-setting, analysis and commercial execution.  As part of its diligence for commercial, industrial and institutional clients, Altenex provides comprehensive tracking, and economic- and risk-analytics of the North American renewables supply market. Texas has consistently been a favorable market for renewable energy buyers.

"Procuring renewable energy involves weighing many complex variables, making sourcing a significant challenge," says Duncan McIntyre, president of Altenex.  "The independent market intelligence in our report supports corporate energy and sustainability leaders working to minimize their exposure to energy price risk, control their energy costs, and improve their sustainability performance."

Surging Renewables Interest Meets a Complex Energy Marketplace

Issued semi-annually by Altenex to clients, the new Market Report provides an overview of the extensive renewable energy project inventories available, and the opportunities and challenges that impact companies' decisions to execute renewable energy transactions.

"The supply landscape is incredibly dynamic. Development and pricing conditions vary considerably from power market to power market.  Developers and projects vary from region to region, and even month to month," says McIntyre. "And while renewable energy is an incredible opportunity for companies, there are also genuine risks.   This report helps organizations understand the variables, ultimately enabling them to bring new renewable energy online under secure, long-term, cost-competitive power purchase agreements."

In evaluating both power markets and renewable project dynamics, Altenex draws on the company's proprietary database of more than 5,000 renewable energy projects across North America, comprising the Altenex Marketplaceâ„¢ - a first-of-its-kind tool that integrates comprehensive project tracking with more than 100 layers of economic and risk analytics.

Using this tool, the company evaluated each regional wholesale electricity market across six criteria:

• Ease of Participation - An assessment of a business or institution's ability to enter a fixed price contract; 
• Project Availability - A summary of active renewable energy projects available; 
• Deregulated Retail Available - A measure of whether a buyer can choose a third party to provide retail electricity, which determines to what extent the buyer is exposed to wholesale power market dynamics;  
• Economics of Renewables - How  renewable energy pricing compares to that of  other available generation sources; 
• Low Renewables Penetration - The amount of wind or solar currently supplying each region; and, 
• High Carbon Intensity - An indicator of how fossil fuel intensive the existing grid is, on average, throughout the market. 

Key Renewable Trends

The report's findings are presented in context with several key trends, including:

• Wholesale power pricing is rising from record lows; 
• Renewable energy's economics are increasingly competitive; 
• Renewable power project inventory is growing, signifying a buyer's market;  
• Significant risks remain; and, 
• New structures, such as the Altenex PowerBloksâ„¢ PPA, widen the options for renewable energy contracts.

For an excerpt from the report, view our recent blog post: The Altenex Market Report: Eight Key Trends in the North American Renewable Energy Market.

 Edison Energy Company | www.edisonenergy.com