Markets for Tradable Renewable Electricity Certificates: Dutch Experience and British Prospects. 1999 BIEE Conference "A New Era for Energy? Price Signals, Industry Structure and Environment

In the Netherlands, since 1998, the ‘groen label ’ scheme enables electricity supply companies to trade renewable electricity generation credits in order to meet their required quotas of renewable electricity supply. Such a scheme will enable a flexible and, therefore, cost saving method for achieving a national target of renewable electricity supply. In the United Kingdom, the government plans that by 2010 10 % of all electricity in the country will be supplied from renewable sources. One method for achieving this target would be to follow the Dutch initiative – which Denmark and certain U.S. states have already opted for. The purpose of this paper is to present an argument for introducing tradable certificates, review the initial developments in the Dutch market for renewable electricity credits, and to consider how the market might form in the United Kingdom, if such a scheme were introduced. I