The plans are for a new £600m power station housing two combined cycle gas turbine generating units near the huge London Gateway Logistics Park and Port.

The site is set to become a hub of construction activity over coming years as a new freight rail line is built to open up a new port with outline planning permission for over 9 million square feet of distribution and manufacturing buildings to be built.

Approximately 600 construction jobs on on the power station alone will be created during peak construction.

The go-ahead brings the total new capacity approved by the Government since May last year to 5.5GW – enough to power more than seven million homes if developed.

Hendry said: “The Gateway Energy Centre will play an important role in providing secure electricity supplies to around a million homes across the South East, supplying heat and power to the neighbouring London Gateway Port and Logistics and Business Park and bringing jobs and investment to Essex.

“With a quarter of our electricity-generating capacity shutting down over the next ten years as older plants close, new power stations like Coryton will play a crucial part in the country’s energy mix as we make a move towards a low carbon economy.

“There is also a major opportunity in the long term for gas power stations like this to be fitted with abatement technology.

He added: “This station will be built carbon capture ready, which means that eventually CO₂ emissions from the plant could be captured and transported for storage offshore.

“I am particularly pleased to see the proposals for 11 skilled apprenticeships and the training and vocational facilities at the site, and that InterGen will be working with the community to make sure local people are given an opportunity to benefit from the construction and operation of the plant.”