Merchant

In what would be the smallest of the four existing liquefied natural gas terminals in the United States, El Paso Merchant Energy got the go-ahead on a three-year lease option to build a facility on Radio Island in North Carolina. The North Carolina State Ports Authority unanimously approved the deal last week.

In what would be the smallest of the four existing liquefiednatural gas terminals in the United States, El Paso Merchant Energygot the go-ahead on a three-year lease option to build a facilityon Radio Island in North Carolina. The North Carolina State PortsAuthority unanimously approved the deal last week.

California regulators have appealed to the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission for help in completing the state’sinvestigation of prices paid in the state’s wholesale electricitymarket this past summer.

Calpine Corp., the San Jose, CA-based merchant power plantdeveloper, maintains a voracious appetite for natural gas that itexpects to reach 6 to 7 Bcf/d in the next five years, but it isunfazed by the current price spike and supply tightness headinginto winter. A diversified portfolio approach that aims for up to aquarter of its supplies coming from its own reserves makes Calpineofficials shrug off worries about future gas markets.

In its first major power sale from its still unfinished merchantenergy plant in Arizona, Calpine Corp. has entered into a five-yearpower sales agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District todeliver 150 MW of electricity from its South Point Energy Center tothe district’s Southern California customers beginning in May 2002.

PG&E Corp. is the latest energy giant to seek a toehold inthe fast-growing Arizona merchant power plant market, gaining aninitial state approval last week, but facing up to a half-dozencounty, state and federal environmental reviews for a proposed $500million, 1,040 MW natural gas-fired plant near Phoenix.

Duke Energy North America (DENA) will be firing up about 2,300MW of new merchant generation capacity this summer to capture someof the load growth and higher electric power prices in Texas, theMidwest and New England.

Duke Energy North America (DENA) will be firing up about 2,300MW of new merchant generation capacity this summer to capture someof the load growth and higher electric power prices in Texas, theMidwest and New England.

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.