UPDATE 1-RGGI carbon emissions auction raises $107 mln

(Adds details about RGGI, quote from RGGI chair)

NEW YORK Dec 19 (Reuters) - Permits for the right to emit carbon dioxide from power plants in the U.S. Northeast sold for the clearing price of $3.38 per ton in the second U.S. greenhouse gas emissions auction, states in the region said on Friday.

The amount was 31 cents more than the first quarterly auction held in September and raised nearly $107 million for the 10 states which have formed a cap and trade market on the emissions called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Pete Grannis, the chair of RGGI's board of directors, was confident that the program would serve as a model for politicians, including President-elect Barack Obama, who hope to regulate emissions of gases blamed for warming the planet.

"We look forward to developing a partnership with the Obama Administration to create a strong federal climate action plan," he said in a release.

The states will begin regulating carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in January. They hope to reduce emissions 10 percent in the region from 2015 through 2018. The next auction will take place in March.

RGGI said 69 participants from the financial, energy and environmental sectors did the bidding in the auction, which was held on Wednesday.

The states aim to invest the proceeds from the auctions in clean energy and energy efficiency projects. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, editing by Jim Marshall)