Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs), which will be tradeable, will be granted by the government as a means of ensuring electricity suppliers buy the requisite amount of green power.

The country's aim to boost the renewable industry is a key plank in plans to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, seen by many scientists as a contributor to global warming.

Multi-utility Centrica is currently trying to create a standard trading agreement for the power industry to use when the sector starts buying and selling ROCs from early 2002.

"We have launched a master trading agreement for ROCs and are hoping to set up an industry meeting soon and have everything sorted by the end of November," Centrica's head of trading Paul Massara told Reuters.

Energy regulator Ofgem says that although the authority will make the initial grant of ROCs to green power generators it will play no part in developing a trading market.

"Ofgem will have no role in faciliating trade in ROCS, it will be up to the market to decide", an Ofgem official said.

Massara said the 35 industry players which have already requested copies of Centrica's draft trading standard represented "a good cross section" of the companies involved in Britain's 7.5 billion pound ($11 billion) wholesale electricity market.

He said the next stage was for companies to respond to Centrica with their views.

HOW ROCs OPERATE

When renewable energy generators, such as wind farms or hydropower schemes, are granted ROCs by Ofgem (to match their green output) they can sell the ROCs to the buyers of their green electricity or sell the ROCs and the electricity separately.

Electricity suppliers also have a choice in how they meet their specific Renewables Obligation;

They can purchase ROCs (with or without green power); or they can pay a financial penalty ("buy back") of three pence per kilowatt hour chargeable on every kilowatt hour not covered by a ROC. They can also opt to for a combination of ROCs and buy backs.