Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) today announced it plans to launch wind futures on December 14, 2026, subject to completion of relevant regulatory processes, expanding ICE’s energy markets into climatic variable contracts.

The 15 cash-settled wind futures are based on wind power output indices published by ENWEX GmbH (ENWEX) for Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K. ENWEX is a provider of weather and renewable energy indices for temperature, wind and solar. The new contracts cover onshore wind (turbines on land), offshore wind (turbines at sea) and the two combined, depending on the country.

Wind supplies a large and growing share of European electricity, and its output changes with the weather. The seven countries covered by the new contracts account for over 70% of Europe’s total installed wind generation capacity. Combined with ICE’s European power futures, the contracts allow wind producers, utilities, suppliers and buyers under power purchase agreements to manage the volume risk of wind generation as well as the price risk of electricity.

“Climatic variable futures are a natural addition to the energy markets we already offer,” said Gordon Bennett, Managing Director, Utility Markets at ICE. “Wind volume is now a significant part of the power sector, and customers want a way to manage it alongside what they already trade with us. Our energy and environmental portfolio allow participants to hedge across commodities, hubs and time periods, and to manage the links between natural gas, power and carbon in one place.”

“Because the amount of wind generated affects how much gas-fired power is needed, wind futures give customers a way to manage exposures that run through all three, with the same trading and clearing relationships they already have with ICE,” continued Bennett.

“As renewable generation grows, managing weather-driven volume risk is increasingly essential, particularly in the expanding market for renewable power purchase agreements,” said Robin Girmes, Managing Director at ENWEX. “We believe transparent, standardized and independently calculated indices are fundamental to making renewable energy generation risks measurable, tradable and hedgeable. We are proud that ICE has chosen ENWEX indices as the foundation for these new wind contracts, a step towards establishing weather risk as an integral part of modern energy markets.”

ICE’s energy markets span benchmark natural gas contracts such as TTF, NBP, Henry Hub and JKM, oil contracts including Brent, Gasoil and Dubai (Platts), and global power futures, alongside environmental markets.