Proposals to be build the big waste to energy plant on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil have gone to the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which decides on nationally significant projects.
Now the IPC has 28 days to decide whether the proposal will pass to the next stage of the process.
During its construction the proposed Brig y Cwm plant will create 650 jobs.
When commissioned it will be able burn 750,000 tonnes of residual waste every year and generate 70MW of electricity. That is enough to power around 180,000 homes and cuts the need for costly landfill.
Malcolm Chilton, Covanta Energy’s UK managing director, said: “Using waste to produce energy is a very cost-effective solution to these problems.
“The plant will be financed, built, owned and operated by Covanta Energy and will present no financial risk to local authorities.
He added: “It will also help cut greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climatechange – by displacing the carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel generation and reducing long- term emissions of methane gas from landfill sites that will otherwise be required.”