Washington held a special cap-and-trade auction intended to help keep carbon costs in check after May’s quarterly auction cleared at an unexpectedly high price.

Washington’s second cap-and-trade auction netted more than $557 million in revenue after bidders bought all 11.035 million carbon allowances on offer last week.

Washington is aiming to auction off enough cap-and-trade credits to cover more than 11 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

In approving a water quality certificate for a pumped storage project along the Columbia, Washington sparked protests from area tribes and some environmental groups.

Washington’s Department of Ecology confirmed that it raised almost $300 million from the state’s first quarterly cap-and-trade auction held in February.

Washington carbon allowance prices will increase sharply as the state’s cap-and-trade program becomes better established, carbon market analysts said.

Washington’s first cap-and-trade auction earned the state nearly $300 million in revenue and unloaded all allowances on offer.

Washington’s first cap-and-invest auction took place Tuesday, but initial results will not be released until March 7.

The Western EIM tariff changes allow generators to include the costs of GHG compliance associated with Washington’s cap-and-trade program in their energy bids.