Developers behind plans for a renewable energy plant in north Devon are planning to appeal against a decision which turned the scheme down.
Torridge councillors agreed with officials on Tuesday that the £43m plant was too big for the site on a disused airfield at Winkleigh.
Representatives from Peninsula Power said they would almost certainly be making an appeal to the government.
The company said it was confident the government would approve the project.
How biomass works
Peninsula Power, a consortium of local businessmen, wanted to build the plant on nine acres (3.6 hectares) of the site at Winkleigh, which is a former World War II airfield.
Biomass is plant material that is burned, creating renewable energy.
The 23 mega-watt plant would have been fuelled by a mixture of fast-growing crops, such as willow and miscanthus grass, as well as cellulosic fibre, created from household waste.
It would have provided enough electricity for 23,000 homes.
Peninsula Power said it believed the government would back its plans and added that the Department of Trade and Industry had promised a grant of £11.5m towards it.
Residents against the plant said the scheme would blight the area and was a waste of taxpayers money.
They have questioned the amount of support the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA) has given it.
The RDA said it had spent almost £589,000 on the project, with £412,000 being used to acquire the site.
But it added that it had backed the plans because it believed they would be of huge benefit to Winkleigh and the wider area.
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