Expanding its potential reach as a merchant power plantdeveloper/operator, San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. announced itis going after the high-tech and telecommunications industries’growing need for reliable, high-quality electricity by offeringdistributed generation with back-up reliability services. It has a30-MW unit about to be unveiled for an undisclosed customer andseveral other units in the queue, according to the Calpineexecutive heading its new “c*Power” business unit.

Potentially the computer- and telecom-based industries’ appetitefor clean power is insatiable. The potential market is estimated tobe 150,000 MW in the U.S. alone, equating to potentially tens ofbillions of dollars, said Bob Hepple, president of Calpine c*Power.(The name stands for “critical power,” which is a term of artcommonly used in the high-tech industries, according to Hepple.)

Calpine proposes to construct, own and operate distributedgeneration units ranging from 5 to 50 MW and sell power, chilledwater and back-up service to customers. It would own and maintainthe units, which can be free of the utility power grid or attachedto it, depending on the desires of individual customers.

Calpine, which in California and in some other states hasconsiderable natural gas supply resources, will supply the fuel foreach of the units, all of which are expected to be natural gasturbines with heat recovery systems.

The focus will be in the geographical regions (California,Texas, Upper Midwest and Northeast) where the high-tech corridorsnow exist or will soon be developing (such as Atlanta), Hepplesaid. Customers will pay a monthly fee for the redundantreliability system provided by Calpine.

Calpine c*Power will provide three basic components: (1) primarypower (through distributed generation) to replace the grid-basedutility power using small gas turbines; (2) heat recovery off theback end of the turbines to provide chilled water air-condition thecomputer rooms; and (3) a redundant power system in case one of theprimary units goes down.

Calpine contends the Internet, data and telecommunicationsindustries are currently spending “hundreds of millions of dollars”to install back-up power systems to underpin the grid. The c*Powerproducts will allow these high-tech firms “to substantiallydecrease capital and operating costs” for power and airconditioning. The company is promising reliability levels “farexceeding” those available from the grid. Calpine will even offerto buy and operate back-up systems already constructed by high-techcustomers, Hepple said.

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