Edgeley Green Power has submitted an application to the Adur District Council of West Sussex in the south of England to build a £20m renewable power station at Shoreham Port.
The plant will utilise vegetable and plant oils, together with animal fats that are not fit for human consumption, to produce clean energy.
Feeds will be independently audited and will meet the government's sustainability criteria, Edgeley said.
The new power station will be designed to generate approximately 32MWh, enough electricity to run 18,000 homes and is expected to be online by 2014.
Mike Reynolds, Edgeley Green Power chief executive, said: "Shoreham port is still the ideal location for us because we can bring all our fuel in by sea directly to site, meaning we can take full advantage of the port's facilities and not impact on road traffic."
The company claims that the new facility will help the UK to meet its target of renewable energy contributing to 15% of the country's energy consumption by 2020.
If the application is successful, the plant will be built close to the current Shoreham Power Station at the Fishersgate Terminal in Shoreham Harbour.
