CEZ to Buy Emission Credits From Chinese Power Plant, HN Says

By Radoslav Tomek

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- CEZ AS, the Czech Republic's largest power producer, will buy emission permits from a Chinese company building a biomass power plant, Hospodarske Noviny reported.

CEZ will buy the allowances from Hunan Liang Renewable Energy Power, which plans to save permits to emit at least 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide by 2012, the newspaper said, citing CEZ Chief Executive Officer Martin Roman.

The Czech utility has already agreed to buy permits to emit 13 million tons between 2008 and 2012, including five contracts with counterparties from China, Hospodarske said. CEZ wants to buy permits for 21 million tons and expects China to account for up to 70 percent of the total, the newspaper said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Radoslav Tomek in Bratislava at rtomek@bloomberg.net.