Impacts of renewables obligation with recycling of the buy-out fund

Tradable green certificate (TGC) or renewables obligation (RO) programs typically include a buy-out option, but only in the UK the buy-out fund is redistributed back to the suppliers who have submitted the certificates. We show that when the buy-out fund is redistributed, the supply of renewable energy responds positively to the market conditions and renewables target. Without it, the buy-out rate is equivalent to a maximum price. However, redistribution of the buy-out fund may induce strategic behavior from producers who have market power. We analyze the impacts of market power and integration on the supply of conventional and renewable energy under the RO program with the buy-out fund recycled, and devise some empirical tests to predict these impacts. Policy implications of this study are discussed with special reference to the new FiT CfD system. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.