Australia’s small solar market finally clears its Clearing House

After more than four years of operation with many people patiently waiting for certificates to settle through the Clearing House we have finally witnessed the emptying of the Clearing House today.

The only Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) currently in the Clearing House were all queued today. This means that the many householders who had STCs queued in the Clearing House have now been paid.

The market is now operating as it was originally intended with the supply of STCs closely matching demand. The wholesale spot price of STCs has traded as high as $40 which has created the incentive for Liable Parties to secure certificates out of the Clearing House at the fixed price of $40.

The Chart below shows the number of STCs queued in the Clearing House compared to the STC spot price at the end of each week. The number of STCs in the Clearing House has dropped significantly over the last 12 months as the STC price strengthened and encouraged the withdrawal of STCs. The most recent reductions in the level of STCs in the Clearing House have been due to settlements going through. There were 185,000 STCs in the Clearing House at close of business on Friday 17 April and these were paid out today.

Just after the close of business on Monday 20 April 2015 the Clearing House went into deficit (refer to extract from REC-Registry below).  The Clean Energy Regulator issued “Regulator Created STCs” to meet the purchase requests of a Liable Party as there were insufficient STCs in the Clearing House. Regulator Created STCs are switched back out when STCs become available.

We estimate that there are enough registered STCs in the market to meet the surrender requirements by 28 April 2015. The challenge will be for the registered STCs to find their way into the hands of Liable Parties in time to be surrendered. The Clearing House plays an important role in making this happen in an efficient manner.