The new station will be a 800 megawatt gas-fired plant

Yorkshire company Carlton Power has agreed to build the Langage Energy Plant Project on the outskirts of Plymouth.

The area had been owned by an American company NRG but it went bust earlier this year.

Residents near the proposed site have voiced their objections to the plans, which were first given a government go-ahead in 2000.

Carlton acquired the scheme after NRG ran into financial difficulty and put it up for sale.

This is probably the most important project that Devon has had for the last five years Tim Jones, Devon and Cornwall Business Council

NRG claimed the plans for the 800 megawatt gas-fired plant will produce one of the most energy-efficient plants in the world with very low emissions.

The plant and the nearby 100-acre business park will create 600 construction jobs, plus an estimated 2,000 posts needed for the scheme's completion.

It is expected to be ready in the next five years and the company says it will mean cheaper energy bills for the South West.

The chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, Tim Jones, said he thought it was a fantastic deal for the region.

He said: "This is probably the most important project that Devon has had for the last five years.

"It's fives times bigger then the Eden Project, and it's bigger than the Objective One programme for Cornwall.

"It's a phenomenal success that it's at last been pulled away from the American company that have owned it for some years now and is in the hands of someone who's going to continue the development."