Calpine has announced it is relaunching its Texas power plant development program following a move by state regulators to embrace market-based incentives for reliable power. Calpine’s plan includes multiple projects in various stages of development and squarely supports goals outlined by the Public Utility Commission (PUC).
“We are encouraged that the PUC has laid the foundation to ensure Texas maintains a reliable power supply through market-based mechanisms, and we are excited to move forward with projects that will deliver on that mission. We look forward to the PUC’s final actions,” said Caleb Stephenson, Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations of Calpine. “Our hope is that the legislature will respect the regulatory certainty offered by the PUC and avoid discriminatory programs or direct government procurement that would undermine competition in Texas.”
The initial project is a new 425 MW gas-fired power plant adjacent to the existing Freestone Energy Center in Freestone County. Efforts underway include engineering and site planning, grid interconnection requests, and environmental permitting. Critical components including gas turbines and generators have been procured and are ready for deployment. The new facility will be operational before the summer of 2026.
Other projects under development by Calpine in Texas include:
–A 425 MW gas-fired power plant adjacent to the Guadalupe Energy Center in Guadalupe County. Permitting and interconnection efforts are underway.
–Fitting power generation projects with equipment to capture CO2 emissions, designed to deliver near-zero carbon power that can be dispatched 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
–A new large-scale combined cycle gas generation power plant to support co-located industrial load as well as the electrical grid.
An explicit reliability standard offers a clear roadmap for maintaining the reliability of the grid by bringing new, dispatchable generation online while retaining necessary existing generation, according to Calpine. The Performance Credit Mechanism framework sends important investment signals regarding revenue stability and support for a competitive marketplace. In contrast, proposals such as direct state procurement of generation, ownership of generation by regulated transmission utilities with guaranteed rates of return, and discriminatory low-interest-rate loan programs would all discourage discretionary investment in Texas and socialize costs, none of which are in line with the principles of competition in Texas.
“The PUC has sent a clear signal that Texas is ready to support ambitious investments in a more reliable grid based on the principles of competition not government mandates,” added Stephenson.
About Calpine
Calpine Corporation is America’s largest generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources with operations in competitive power markets. Our fleet of 75 power plants and two battery storage facilities, including one under construction, represents nearly 26,000 megawatts of generation capacity. Through wholesale power operations and our retail businesses, we serve customers in 22 states, Canada and Mexico. Our clean, efficient, modern and flexible fleet uses advanced technologies to generate power in a low-carbon and environmentally responsible manner. We are uniquely positioned to benefit from the secular trends affecting our industry, including the abundant and affordable supply of clean natural gas, environmental regulation, aging power generation infrastructure and the increasing need for dispatchable power plants to successfully integrate intermittent renewables into the grid.
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