In the unincorporated community of Romoland in Riverside, Calif., Calpine Corp. and General Electric Energy are moving forward with a 775-megawatt power plant first licensed in late 2003, and scheduled to come online in 2008. The project will net an investment of more than US$500 million.
      "California set seven consecutive demand records this past summer, and supply and demand fundamentals strongly indicate a need for new power plants in Southern California," said John Rice, president and CEO of GE Energy, at the February 2005 announcement.
      Besides demonstrating a new gas turbine technology from GE, the project also seems to indicate a new chapter in California.
      "For the first time in several years, California appears to have a clear direction on energy policy," said Calpine CEO and president Peter Cartwright, whom Scientific American recognized in November 2004 as its industrial business leader of the year for his advocacy of low-carbon power technologies. "GE's decision to work with Calpine and invest more than a half billion dollars in the Inland Empire Energy Center is proof of the progress that has occurred under the Schwarzenegger Administration and is a tribute to California's improving business climate."
      The construction financing for the project will be executed by GE. Unlike another power plant project under construction in Kaukauna, Wis., this project will not be a sale-leaseback arrangement with GE Commercial Finance Energy Financial Services. Following an undisclosed

Calpine and GE's plant in Romoland, depicted here in an artist's rendering, is one of three Calpine plants under way in the state.

period of GE ownership, Calpine will purchase the Riverside plant and become the sole owner and operator of the facility.
      Calpine spokesman Kent Robertson says the site selection process was driven primarily by "the confluence of high-capacity transmission lines and a gas line located in a market with an identified or projected need for more power." Zoned land and sufficient water supply came next — and the water question offers just one example of positive project results that will range beyond the power itself.
      "We have a 46-acre [18.6-hectare] parcel and access to a utility right-of-way for the delivery of recycled water we'll use for our cooling cycle," he says. "The project will require the construction of a new 18-inch, 4.7-mile [7.5-km.] pipeline for the disposal of non-reclaimable wastewater. The corridor through which the brine-line will be built is zoned for industrial use. It's thought that the added infrastructure will be an incentive for new business that might otherwise locate elsewhere."
      In addition, says Robertson, the site is in a redevelopment zone, meaning the project's property tax revenues will be reinvested locally.
      Asked about the potential for industrial use of the plant's output, Robertson says, "Given the current regulatory environment in California, it is unlikely that a significant portion of the plant's output would be delivered to an industrial user in a direct transaction. Rather, power would be delivered to all users via the local utility, in this case Southern California Edison."
      That's unlike the situation at Calpine's plant in Freeport, Texas, currently under construction. That facility will sell steam and approximately 200 megawatts of power to Dow Chemical Co. under a 25-year power and steam sales agreement.
      Calpine has 11 plants currently under construction, including a plant in Mankato, Minn., and two scheduled to come online this summer in California in time for peak demand.