Renewable energy credit retirements fall 34% on year in March, issuances halve

The total credit retirements from the renewable energy segment in voluntary carbon markets fell 34% year over year to 3.5 million mt in March, according to Platts data published early April.

Despite the sharp decline, with retirements having totaled 5.3 million mt in March 2024, the renewable energy sector still accounted for the largest share of credit retirements in March, having ranked second for retirements in February and January. This change underscored a broader trend of diminished interest among buyers in voluntary carbon credits during March.

The retirements for credits registered under Gold Standard fell 51% month over month to 1.2 million mt. Verra credit retirements also decreased, falling 4.5% month over month to 2.3 million mt in March from 2.2 million mt in February.

The retirement of a carbon credit signifies the emissions offset claimed by a company or organization has been realized. Once credits are retired, they are permanently removed from trading and cannot be resold.

Market participants said the demand for renewable energy credits remained muted in March, with buyers only closing deals for credits generated out of projects they have had established relationships with. Buyers were more inclined toward removal credits or alternatives such as international renewable energy certificates to offset their Scope 2 emissions.

Some retiree entities purchased 1,356 mt credits certified by EcoRegistry in March, up from 59 mt in February. Comparatively, retirements from EcoRegistry certified credits stood at 2,776 mt in March 2024.

The renewable energy segment saw 4.03 million credits issued in March, down 55.7% year over year and down 53.1% month over month.

Issuances from the Verra registry fell sharply by 50.8% month over month to 2.3 million credits in March, while Gold Standard registry issuances dropped 46.3% to 1.7 million.

Carbon credit issuances occur after a project has been registered and verified by a carbon registry, indicating credits from the project are available for trading in the voluntary carbon market.

In March, renewable energy credit prices rose by 5.7% due to project-specific demand. Market participants said buyers were willing to pay a slight premium for credits on which they had already done due diligence and with which they have been associated for a long time.

Demand for wind/solar credits sourced from Turkey remained absent in March, however, with continued distress selling from the beginning of 2025 pressuring prices.

An India-based developer and trader said Turkey-based project developers were increasingly focused on liquidating their current inventory of renewable energy credits. The developers were reluctant to extend the crediting period for their existing projects, the source added.

"You have to be very competitive to earn some tenders and complete requests, renewable energy credits are the most common," a Turkey-based developer said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the renewable energy current year price at $1.00/mtCO2e on April 21. In March, the Platts Renewable Energy Current Year price averaged $1.04/mtCO2e.

In India, the dynamic between buyers and sellers in the avoidance segment shifted significantly, with buyers seeking the most competitively priced credits. Buyers were quoting bids that were too low for a trade as it would not be feasible for sellers considering high development costs linked to projects and registry fees.

"Development costs have increased, but there are absolutely no trades at levels we would want to sell at," the India-based developer said. "We are no longer issuing new credits. Instead, we are thinking of approaching buyers directly."

Buyers, however, were more interested in credits generated from nature-based projects, the India-based developer added.