A £250m development between Hull and Hedon is on track to create more than 700 jobs.
The Mail can exclusively reveal the city council has entered a one-year agreement with energy firm Lateral Power, giving the company sole negotiating rights on the 213-acre site at the former Hedon Aerodrome.
The company is hoping to construct a biomass power station at the site, as well as an eco-park for green food crop production and fish-farming,
It is hoping to start building a similar project in Anglesey next year.
If given the go-ahead, the Hull version would be the first of its kind in England.
Details of the development have been kept under wraps until now.
The Chester firm has formed a separate company, Lateral Eco Park Hull Ltd, to deliver the project.
Sean McCormick, chief executive officer of Lateral Eco Park Hull Ltd, said: "This is an exciting project for us that will help provide much-needed jobs in the area.
"We are holding productive discussions with the local authorities to find the most appropriate proposal before we undertake further consultation with the wider community but we look forward to delivering this development."
The current idea is to use energy from the proposed biomass power plant to run an entirely water-fed horticulture production complex, growing salad, vegetables and herbs.
A large fish-farming operation would also be based there using the same energy supply.
Mr McMormick said the firm was also looking at the possibility of housing a data storage centre at the site.
Digital industry experts are predicting a rapid increase in the number of data storage sites around the UK and Hull's new High Steward Lord Mandelson recently claimed the Humber region was a perfect location because of its geography and the growing cluster of energy initiatives around the estuary.
Councillor Martin Mancey, the city council's portfolio holder for Energy City, said: "Two of the key ambitions within Hull's ten-year City Plan are jobs and energy.
"This proposal could provide hundreds of jobs for the city, as well as being a sustainable energy source. "The proposal is still at a very early stage, with discussions ongoing between us as the landowner of the site, and East Riding Council as the local planning authority.
"We are currently investigating the feasibility of the site for such a development before determining the most appropriate way forward."
The former aerodrome site lies in the East Riding but is owned by the city council.
Under the eco-park proposals, there would be a green buffer zone between any buildings on the site and the outskirts of Hedon and Preston.
The agreement with the city council allows the company to refine its development proposals, consult with a variety of statutory bodies and negotiate an agreement over a possible transfer of the land.
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