The Metcalf Energy Center is a 605

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

combined cycle power plant located in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

, located in unincorporated Coyote Valley, south of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

and north of

Morgan Hill, California Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainme ...

. The power plant is owned by

Calpine Calpine Corporation is the largest generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources in the United States, with operations in competitive power markets. A Fortune 500 company based in Houston, Texas, the company is owned by an ...

and powered by

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

. Some of the power generated by the plant is sent to far away places via

Path 15 Path 15 is an portion of the north–south power transmission corridor in California, U.S. It forms a part of the Pacific AC Intertie and the California-Oregon Transmission Project. Path 15 is part of The Western Electricity Coordinating Cou ...

, a major electrical power transmission corridor that is connected to the power plant.

Development timeline

* April 30, 1999 Application for Certification (AFC) filed with the

California Energy Commission The California Energy Commission, formally the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, is the primary energy policy and planning agency for California. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission'core respon ...

(CEC) * June 23, 1999 CEC determines application is Data Adequate * October 10, 2000 Final Staff Assessment released * January to May 2001 Evidentiary Hearings * June 18, 2001 Presiding Member's Proposed Decision released * August 24, 2001 Revised Presiding Member's Proposed Decision released * September 24, 2001 Project approved by Commission * Mid 2002 Construction of the plant began * June 2005 Project begins commercial operation

Potential Closure

In June 2017, Calpine Corporation notified the

California Independent System Operator The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) is a non-profit Independent System Operator (ISO) serving California. It oversees the operation of California's bulk electric power system, transmission lines, and electricity market generated a ...

(CAISO) that unless it was granted reliability-must-run (RMR) status, it intended to take the plant offline at the end of 2017. (Reliability-must-run (RMR) status is a designation that a power plant is essential for the reliability of providing needed power at times of peak demand, and/or to maintain a level of redundancy for when other power generation facilities fail.) Calpine stated that it was no longer economical to continue to run the Metcalf plant at the currently low wholesale electricity prices; the result of an electricity glut in California. The glut in wholesale prices resulted from policies which guarantee utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), (a regulated monopoly), return on investment for building new power plants, even when they are not needed. The Los Angeles Times explains:

"California has a big — and growing — glut of power, an investigation by the Los Angeles Times has found. The state's power plants are on track to be able to produce at least 21% more electricity than it needs by 2020, based on official estimates. And that doesn't even count the soaring production of electricity by rooftop solar panels that has added to the surplus." "Utilities are typically guaranteed a rate of return of about 10.5% for the cost of each new plant regardless of need. This creates a major incentive to keep construction going: Utilities can make more money building new plants than by buying and reselling readily available electricity from existing plants run by competitors." "Independents like Calpine don't have a captive audience of residential customers like regulated utilities do. Instead, they sell their electricity under contract or into the electricity market, and make money only if they can find customers for their power."

References

External links

California Energy Commission Project Information
Energy infrastructure completed in 2005 Buildings and structures in San Jose, California Natural gas-fired power stations in California Energy in the San Francisco Bay Area {{SanJoseCA-stub

Development timeline

Potential Closure

See also

References

External links