The new power station on the Eggborough site in East Yorkshire will be a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, outputting 2GW.
A new underground gas pipeline will be constructed to connect the power station to the UK’s natural gas transmission network.
The secretary of state for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will need to grant a Development Consent Order and the company will need to make a final investment decision before construction can go ahead.
A decision by the business and energy secretary Greg Clark is expected by Autumn 2018.
The firm says it is also undertaking technical and environmental studies to identify the most appropriate location within the Eggborough Power Station site and a suitable route for the gas pipeline connection to the natural gas transmission network.
The new plant is likely to be operational in 2022 at the earliest, by which time Eggborough coal-fired station will be decommissioned.