02-02-00 Calpine Corporation, one of the nation's fastest growing power companies, announced plans to build, own and operate a 700-MW natural gas-fired cogeneration power plant at Solutia's Decatur, Ala. chemical facility.
The proposed Decatur Energy Centre will generate approximately 700 MW of clean, competitively priced electricity for Solutia's industrial processing and for Alabama's growing power market. Permitting for the $ 350 mm facility will begin immediately, with construction scheduled to start in mid 2000. Energy deliveries are slated to begin in summer 2002.

Under terms of a 20-year agreement, Solutia will lease a portion of the facility to meet its electricity needs and purchase its steam requirements from Calpine. Excess power from the facility will be sold into the South-eastern US wholesale power market under a variety of short-, mid-, and long-term contracts.
"In today's competitive power industry, world-class chemical producers like Solutia demand the highest quality product at competitive prices," said Diana Naylor, Calpine's senior vice president. "We appreciate Solutia's confidence in Calpine's ability to reliably and cost-effectively meet their long-term energy needs."
Calpine will manage all aspects of project development for the Decatur Energy Centre, including engineering and design, construction, fuel supply and power marketing. In addition, Calpine will build a new intrastate natural gas pipeline to fuel the new plant. This full-service approach enables Calpine to lower costs, control quality and make project enhancements throughout the development process.
To achieve maximum fuel efficiency, Calpine will incorporate three Siemens Westinghouse state-of-the-art 501F combustion turbines, and will utilise advanced emission control technology to dramatically lower emissions compared to the average natural gas-fired utility plant. "The Decatur Energy Centre will be one of the most fuel efficient and environmentally responsible power plants to be built in the United States," said Naylor. "Customers and the environment win."

Calpine Corporation is a leading independent power company dedicated to providing customers with reliable and competitively priced electricity. Calpine currently has interests in approximately 14,000 MW of capacity in operation, under construction or in announced development in 18 states -- enough energy to power over 13 mm households.
Calpine has headquarters in San Jose, Calif., with regional offices in Houston, Texas; Pleasanton, Calif.; and Boston, Mass. The company was founded in 1984 and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CPN.