London, 34 September 2011: Thomson Reuters Point Carbon

German exchange EEX has won a tender to host auctions for 8 million EU allowances before 2013 on behalf of the Dutch government, a spokeswoman for the country's environment ministry told Point Carbon News on Friday. "I can confirm that EEX has won the tender. Monday it will be officially announced ... (and) more information will be known then," said the spokeswoman from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.

Leipzig-based energy bourse EEX beat a number of contenders, including Amsterdam-based emissions exchange Climex, to host the auctions, which will see 4 million CO2 permits sold this year and 4 million in 2012, two sources close to the process said.

One participant in the tender, speaking on condition of anonymity, said EEX’s bid to host the auction was valued at around €24,000, translating into a fee of 0.3 cents per EUA.

“EEX offered a very low price so it’s not surprising that they won,” the source said.

“They’re very competitive and they obviously want to win these auctions.”

An EEX spokesman would not comment on the matter. The first auction is scheduled to be held in September or October, the Dutch environment ministry spokeswoman told Point Carbon News in late July.

The sales represent the final tranches of the Netherlands’ plan to auction 16 million permits, or around 4 per cent of its total EUA allocation, during the second phase of the EU emissions trading scheme (2008-2012).

EEX is also bidding to host national and EU-wide permit auctions for phase three of the EU ETS (2013-2020), which are scheduled to start during the second half of 2012.

The EU is currently deciding which bourse will host its phase three EUA sales, while Poland, Germany and the UK have opted out of selling their permits on the bloc-wide platform and instead are holding tenders of their own to pick selling agents.

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