Permission was granted yesterday for the construction of an 80MW power station, creating energy from waste and biomass, at Storey's Bar Gate in Peterborough.

The station is expected to save almost 12 million tones of carbon dioxide throughout its 20-year lifespan.

Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd is to construct the station, which will create clean energy from waste glass, plastic and metal.

The construction should deliver at least ten percent of the east of England renewable energy target for 2010 and 2011.

David Kidney, the UK government's minister for energy and climate change, said: "This plant will provide reliable, low carbon energy for years to come. The UK needs to generate 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 and energy from biomass could contribute as much as a third of that.

"Meeting our target means we have to follow the east of England's example and build more plants like this."

The UK has a target to reduce carbon emissions on 1990 levels by 80 percent over the next four decades.