The plant, to be built on the Bilsthorpe Colliery site, would use waste to generate electricity, which would be fed into the National Grid.
Peel Environmental said the power would be generated by reacting organic material at high temperatures with oxygen or steam to create syngas.
The process, called gasification, is considered to be more energy efficient.
The company said it would handle around 120,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste each year.
This would be generated by businesses and households in Nottinghamshire, with around 23,000 tonnes recycled into other products, while the remainder would be used to generate electricity.
The project is expected to create around 40 jobs at the site which ceased coal production in 1995.
The group hopes to submit a planning application to Nottinghamshire County Council in the autumn.
Developers are planning to build a Â£70m power station on the site of a former colliery in Nottingham.