Bord Gáis has announced plans to build a €300m gas-fired power plant on a 25-acre site in Co Cork.
The company has reached agreement to buy the site at Whitegate from ConocoPhillips.
The proposed 440 megawatt plant is subject to planning approval and a connection agreement with Eirgrid. Bord Gais 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.
Head of strategic investments Dave Kirwan said Bord Gáis had built up an 8% share of the electricity market. It currently sources electricity from a range of power producers, but says its ability to develop this business was dependent on securing its own source of power.
Mr Kirwan said the Whitegate site represented a strategic and desirable location, as it was near an existing industrial development, with access to fuel storage facilities, sea water cooling and an electrical grid connection.
