By Tom Kleckner

Coal’s share of SPP’s energy production continues to slide in the face of low gas prices and increased wind generation, according to the RTO’s latest State of the Market report.

The SPP Market Monitoring Unit’s spring report says coal-fired generation accounted for just 41% of the RTO’s energy production between March and May, its lowest percentage ever and a stunning 31% drop from spring 2014, when coal resources provided 59% of the RTO’s energy. Coal generation accounted for more than 65% of total generation in 2007, SPP’s first year as an organized market.

Coal’s diminished market share is largely attributed to the continuing drop in gas prices. Prices at the Panhandle Hub have dropped 64% since spring 2014, from $4.66/MMBtu to $1.68/MMBtu, and 32% since spring 2015, when the price was $2.46/MMBtu.

That contributed to average real-time LMPs of $17.37/MWh (compared to $34.72/MWh in 2014) and day-ahead LMPs of $17.07/MWh (versus $37.03/MWh in 2014). The Monitor said it is the first time since the Integrated Marketplace opened in March 2014 that day-ahead prices were below real-time.

Coal-fired resources were also backed down by the ready availability of wind energy, which accounted for 21.5% of all energy produced this spring, compared to 15% last year. SPP’s wind penetration has risen from the 30% range to a new high of 49.17% of total generation this year.

The Monitor also said cleared virtual transactions are approaching the levels of other RTOs, at about 10% of reported load. It said gross virtual profits for the Integrated Marketplace’s most recent 12 months totaled nearly $78 million, with gross virtual losses totaling nearly $58 million.

Virtual trades have shown net profits every month since the Integrated Marketplace began, with the exception of May 2014.