German utility firm E.ON is planning to build a new gas-fired power plant at a site in Nottinghamshire in the UK, according to the Financial Times.
The D├╝sseldorf-based company has begun a study looking at the feasibility of building a 1,600 megawatt gas-fired power plant at High Marnham, on the site of a disused coal-fired power station.
The plant would generate enough electricity to power two million UK homes.
E.ON recently abandoned its plans to build a coal-fired power station of the same size at Kingsnorth in Kent.
The new reports have prompted fears that the UK is becoming overly reliant on gas for its electricity generation.
This winter, the country will import around 50 per cent of its natural gasÔÇönearly ten times that of the amount imported in 2004, when it ceased to be a net exporter for the first time.
The percentage of BritainÔÇÖs electricity produced from gas has risen from two per cent in 1992 to 35 per cent today, as coal and nuclear plants across the country are progressively being shut down.
The security of the UKÔÇÖs supply is already in question as North Sea supplies are rapidly depleting, raising concerns that the country needs to diversify its energy strategy.
Using alternative sources of fuel would also reduce exposure to price fluctuations affecting one fuel.
Gas-fired power stations are cheaper and quicker to construct than their coal-fired or nuclear equivalents, and they tend to elicit a more favourable response from the public.
Gas-fired plants are currently being built in Pembroke, West Wales, and West Burton, Nottinghamshire.
E.ON is likely to submit a full planning application for the proposed plant at High Marnham next year.
E.ON is the worldÔÇÖs largest investor-owned energy service provider. It employs just over 90,000 people worldwide.
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