Method for facilitating the sale of a commodity

• US 20070016511A1
• Filed: 10/26/2005
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. (Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. (Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.)
• Inventors: Walsh, Michael, Sandor, Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/258,195
• Publication Number:
  US 20070016511A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/90 Financial instruments for climate change mitigation, e.g. environmental taxes, subsidies or financing

Abstract

A method for facilitating the future sale of a commodity is described. The technique includes creating a tradable when-allocated allowance voucher, and selling the voucher at a set present price to a buyer who desires to acquire the amounts of the commodity at the future date. The voucher represents allocated allowance amounts of a commodity that is expected to be available at a future date.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for facilitating the future sale of a commodity, which comprises:

creating a tradable when-allocated allowance voucher that represents allocated allowance amounts of a commodity which is expected to be available at a future date; and

selling the voucher at a set present price to a buyer who desires to acquire the amounts of the commodity at the future date.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising reselling all or a portion of the voucher to at least one other buyer without restriction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the voucher expires after a predetermined amount of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the voucher does not expire.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the commodity is at least one of electricity, foodstuffs, and carbon emissions allowances.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the commodity is electricity, and an electric power voucher is created that expires on a set date.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the electric power voucher represents a predetermined amount of megawatt hours to be delivered within a predetermined time frame.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising approving an entity as an issuer of the voucher.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the price for the commodity is set by the issuer according to at least one predetermined condition.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein a regulatory organization approves the entity.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein approval is based on predetermined criteria including at least one of creditworthiness, the capability of the issuer to fulfill commitments to provide the commodity to be delivered in accordance with provisions of the voucher, and membership in the regulatory organization.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the regulatory organization is the European Climate Exchange.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising reporting all sales of all or a portion of the voucher to a central regulatory organization.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the central regulatory organization monitors and approves all transfers of the voucher, and redeems the voucher.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the buyer sends a redemption notice to the issuer in an allocation year.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising transmitting emission allowances from the issuer to a registry account of the buyer.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising matching allocated emissions allowance information in a registry of the issuer with that provided by the buyer.

18. A computer-implemented method for facilitating compliance with emissions reduction mandates, which comprises:

creating a when-allocated emission allowance voucher that represents amounts of emission allowances which are expected to be available at a future date; and

selling the voucher at a set present price to a buyer who desires to acquire the amounts of the emissions allowances at the future date.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising approving an entity as an issuer of the voucher.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the issuer utilizes revenue realized from the sale of the voucher to comply with the reduction mandates.

21. A freely-transferable when-allocated allowance voucher representing amounts of emissions allowances that are expected to be available at a future date.

22. The voucher of claim 21 in electronic form for trading over a network.