On 1 April 2012, under the Localism Act 2011, the Planning Inspectorate became the agency responsible for operating the planning process for nationally significant infrastructure projects. First stage is for the inspectorate to decide whether to accept the application. This decision should be made by Friday 1 November 2013.
The project is being developed by Knottingley Power, a subsidiary of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), which is the state-owned electricity company in Ireland. It is aiming to start construction in 2015, with operation starting in 2018.
The location is a former Oxiris chemical works in Knottingley. An 8km pipeline would also be built to connect the power plant to the national gas transmission network.
It is envisaged that there will be up to 1,100 jobs created during the peak construction phase.
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