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600 new jobs are on their way to Thurrock as plans for a new gas-fired power station are announced.
The £600 million power plant will eventually power 7 million homes across the South East.
Energy Minister, Charles Hendry, gave the plans the go-ahead as he visited the London Gateway Logisitcs Park in Coryton on Thursday 4 August.
It will take about three years to build the plant.
Energy Minister Charles Hendry said: ''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.
''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.''