Bord Gáis has announced plans to build a €300 million gas-fired power plant on a 25-acre site in Co Cork.
The company has reached agreement to buy the site at Whitegate.
The proposed 440-megawatt plant is subject to planning approval and a connection agreement with Eirgrid. Bord Gáis hopes it will be fully operational by 2009.
The company said the development would provide it with a long-term source of power and allow it to expand its position as an electricity provider in the Irish market.
Dave Kirwan, Head of Strategic Investments at Bord Gáis, said the Whitegate site represented a strategic and desirable location, as it was near an existing industrial development, with access to fuel storage facilities, seawater cooling and an electrical grid connection.
