Nodal Exchange Posts Strong Growth Across Power, Environmental, and Natural Gas Futures in First Half of 2025
Nodal Exchange, a leading commodity futures exchange in North America, has reported robust performance across its power, environmental, and natural gas markets in the first half of 2025. The exchange continues to solidify its dominant position in the U.S. energy futures landscape, driven by rising demand for risk management tools and increasing market interest in environmental and clean energy-related products.
Power Futures Continue to Lead the Market
As of the end of June 2025, Nodal Exchange reported a total open interest of 1.481 billion megawatt hours (MWh) in its power futures contracts. This represents a 7.6% increase compared to the 1.377 billion MWh of open interest recorded at the end of June 2024. When measured by notional value, the open interest reached approximately $149.9 billion based on both sides of the market, highlighting the scale and liquidity of Nodal’s offerings.
Nodal Exchange remains the clear leader in U.S. power futures markets, accounting for 57% of all open interest in these contracts. This reflects Nodal’s continued success in capturing market share and offering products that align with the needs of participants in the North American power trading ecosystem.
During the first half of 2025, the exchange recorded a total of 1.61 billion MWh of power futures volume traded. While slightly down from the 1.64 billion MWh traded during the same period in 2024, the difference is modest and reflects steady market participation amid broader energy market volatility and evolving policy landscapes.
The month of June 2025 marked a particularly strong performance, with 164 million MWh of power futures traded. This represents a 6.4% increase from June 2024, further underscoring the exchange’s resilience and relevance in a highly dynamic sector. This monthly volume surge may be attributed to heightened summer demand, active hedging activity among utilities, and broader shifts in regional grid pricing.
Environmental Markets See Accelerated Growth
Nodal Exchange’s environmental markets demonstrated impressive growth in both volume and open interest during the first six months of 2025, signaling rising industry interest in environmental products such as carbon allowances and renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Environmental futures and options contracts recorded a total trading volume of 402,364 lots in the first half of the year. This marks a significant 48% increase from the same period in 2024, highlighting accelerating adoption of these instruments by market participants seeking to comply with regulatory mandates, fulfill sustainability goals, or hedge exposures linked to decarbonization trends.
Open interest in environmental products also showed healthy expansion, rising to 410,510 lots as of the end of June 2025. This represents a 17% increase compared to the 351,659 lots of open interest recorded a year earlier. The consistent rise in open interest not only reflects increased trading activity but also greater long-term engagement and strategic positioning in environmental markets.
Surge in Carbon Futures and RECs
Among the most notable areas of growth within Nodal’s environmental segment were carbon and REC futures and options. Carbon contracts, which have gained considerable attention as global and regional carbon pricing mechanisms mature, saw volume surge to 68,322 lots in the first half of 2025. This represents a staggering 344% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
Such explosive growth in carbon-related contracts indicates the growing importance of carbon pricing in energy and industrial markets, and the role of futures contracts in providing transparency and risk management tools in these developing sectors.
Renewable energy certificate (REC) futures and options also posted strong gains. Through June 2025, these instruments saw a total of 294,986 lots traded, marking a 55% increase from the previous year. This growth points to rising demand for clean energy compliance tools, particularly as state-level renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and voluntary market participation continue to expand.
The performance of both carbon and REC contracts positions Nodal as a major venue for environmental commodity trading, providing a reliable and transparent platform for buyers and sellers to manage their exposure to sustainability-linked assets.
Record-Breaking Natural Gas Futures Activity
In addition to its leadership in power and environmental markets, Nodal Exchange achieved a new milestone in natural gas trading volume. The first half of 2025 saw a 56% year-over-year increase in natural gas futures activity, setting a half-year record for the exchange.
The sharp rise in natural gas trading underscores Nodal’s growing role as a comprehensive energy trading platform. As the U.S. natural gas market continues to experience heightened volatility—driven by factors such as global LNG demand, weather variability, and domestic production dynamics—traders are increasingly turning to Nodal’s products for effective hedging and price discovery.
Innovation and Market Responsiveness
Reflecting on the exchange’s performance, Paul Cusenza, Chairman and CEO of Nodal Exchange and Nodal Clear, expressed confidence in the path ahead.
“Nodal Exchange is proud to serve our growing markets,” said Cusenza. “As the year progresses, we look forward to continuing to develop and offer innovative products that meet the evolving needs of our markets.”
Cusenza’s comments highlight the exchange’s commitment to innovation, whether through new product development, enhancements to market infrastructure, or expanded access for a diverse range of participants including utilities, corporates, hedge funds, and compliance entities.
Strategic Significance in the Broader Energy Transition
Nodal’s growth across power, environmental, and natural gas markets is not only a reflection of the exchange’s internal strengths but also of broader shifts in the global energy system. The electrification of economies, the expansion of clean energy sources, the institutionalization of environmental markets, and the strategic importance of natural gas as a transitional fuel are all trends that align with Nodal’s core offerings.
By providing a robust platform for managing risk across these key segments, Nodal is increasingly positioned as a central player in the low-carbon energy transition. The exchange’s role in facilitating capital formation, liquidity, and price transparency will be critical as markets continue to evolve under the pressure of climate goals, policy changes, and innovation in clean energy technologies.
