Developers

Ever-expanding San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp., one of the nation’s fastest growing merchant power plant developers, Tuesday bought another 236 Bcf of natural gas reserves through two purchases–one in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and the other in South Texas. This brings Calpine’s gas reserves to about 1.5 Tcf, with a goal of having 6.7 Tcf in the company’s portfolio by the end of 2005 to support an almost exclusively gas-fired fleet of plants totaling 70,000 MW of output.

FERC upheld its March decision on remand in which it disclaimedjurisdiction over a four-mile, six-inch line of KN WattenbergTransmission LLC that serves two industrial customers in FortMorgan, CO. The Commission asserted jurisdiction over the lateralin a November 1997 ruling, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for theTenth Circuit remanded the decision two years later. Last March,FERC vacated its controversial decision upon acknowledging that theline met the qualifications for a Hinshaw exemption and, therefore,was subject to regulation by the Colorado Public UtilitiesCommission.

Merchant power plant developers attempting to get a foot in thedoor in Florida were thrown out again by the state Supreme Court.The court rejected Duke Energy’s motion for rehearing of a decisionhanded down this spring that said the state’s public servicecommission had no authority to approve a 514 MW merchant plant Dukeplanned to build in New Smyrna Beach.

Merchant power plant developers attempting to get a foot in thedoor in Florida were thrown out again by the state Supreme Court.The court rejected Duke Energy’s motion for rehearing of a decisionhanded down this spring that said the state’s public servicecommission had no authority to approve a 514 MW merchant plant Dukeplanned to build in New Smyrna Beach.

Developers of what at one time was California’s first merchantpower plant proposal are gearing up for more concentrated effortsto develop natural gas deals and power marketing efforts, assumingthey get final federal government environmental okays for their$350 million, 700 MW High Desert generation plant by mid-summer.Although delayed more than two years, the plant last week gainedits long-sought state approval from the California EnergyCommission (CEC).

Developers of what at one time was California’s first merchantpower plant proposal are gearing up for more concentrated effortsto develop natural gas deals and power marketing efforts, assumingthey get final federal government environmental okays for their$350 million, 700 MW High Desert generation plant by mid-summer.Although delayed more than two years, the project last week (May 3)gained its long-sought state approval for the plant from theCalifornia Energy Commission (CEC).

While droves of developers are flocking to the Florida market tocash in on the gas-fired power generation bonanza, affiliates ofDallas-based Panda Energy are eyeing a market closer to home -Arkansas.