Calpine Corp. has raised $265 million to complete constructionof a 510 MW expansion of its Pasadena, TX, power plant. Calpine,based in San Jose, CA, and the largest independent power producerin Texas, broke ground on the Pasadena plant expansion in November.The company expects to begin electricity production in June 2000 tohelp meet peak summer demand. The Pasadena plant currentlygenerates up to 240 MW of capacity. With the expansion, it willgenerate enough electricity to power 750,000 households.

The plant is adjacent to Phillips Petroleum ‘s Houston ChemicalComplex. Pasadena generates 90 MW of electricity and 200,000 poundsper hour of steam for industrial processes at the Phillips’chemical complex. Calpine is also selling energy to wholesalecustomers in the Texas market including LG&E Energy Marketingand Texas Utilities Electric Co.

In other Texas power plant news, Duke Energy Power Servicesbroke ground on its Hidalgo Energy power plant in Edinburg, TX. Theplant is the company’s first major wholesale merchant power plantin Texas. When the 500 MW, $175 million power plant comes on linein the summer of 2000, it will generate enough wholesaleelectricity to serve about 500,000 homes.

Hidalgo Energy is approximately 40% more efficient thantraditional power plants, due in large part to its state-of-the-artcombined-cycle design. About two-thirds of its electricity isgenerated by two large combustion turbine generators that arefueled by high-pressure air mixed with natural gas. The exhaustfrom this combustion process is recycled to produce high-pressuresteam to drive a steam turbine generator.

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