Wood work

plans to invest around £300m in a biomass power station at the

.

At 150MW, the proposed Portbury Dock Renewable Energy Plant would derive its power by burning wood.

E.ON has issued a statement to North Somerset Council, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and other interested parties outlining the plans and hopes to submit a full application in June 2009.

If the project is approved, construction is expected to start in 2010, with the first power being produced in 2013 and full operation being reached in 2014.

‘This scheme would be one of the largest biomass power stations ever built in the UK and would make a considerable contribution to helping the government meet its renewable energy targets,’ said Dr Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK.

This is the third of E.ON's biomass developments in the UK. The company already operates Scotland's largest dedicated biomass power station at Steven's Croft near Lockerbie and, earlier this year, received permission for a 25MW biomass station in Sheffield.