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For
Immediate Release: Contact:
San Jose, CA--- San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and Calpine Corporation/Bechtel Enterprises Holdings, Inc., developer of the proposed Metcalf Energy Center (MEC), announced an agreement today under which MEC will provide further assurances of safe operating practices and local electrical reliability, make cash contributions to community programs, and offer long-term contracts at competitive prices for San Jose businesses. Under terms of the proposed agreement, the City of San Jose will support and provide municipal services for construction of the 600-megawatt natural gas-fueled power plant in the Coyote Valley in South San Jose. The city will provide all requested municipal services in a timely manner at standard rates and terms applicable to similar users, and it will process annexation of the portion of the site not already within the city limits. Mayor Gonzales
will recommend the proposed agreement to the San Jose City Council for
consideration at the council’s regular meeting scheduled June 5.
"From the start, my goal has been both to protect our neighborhoods and develop practical energy solutions to meet the needs of our community," Mayor Gonzales said. "With this agreement we have gained additional measures to assure local safety and achieve greater benefits for our neighborhoods, and it affirms our city’s commitment to doing our fair share for regional energy supply. “I appreciate the efforts of Calpine and Bechtel to listen our community and to make changes to the Metcalf proposal that will result in a project that will be better for the people of San Jose.” Earlier this year
San Jose adopted its Smart Energy Plan that focuses on balanced solutions.
These include greater energy conservation by residents, businesses, and
government; more energy production with generating facilities that are
appropriately sized, located, and operated to prevent adverse impacts on
neighborhoods; and collaborative efforts with the state and other local
governments and businesses in the region. "This agreement provides resolution of the remaining concerns we have heard from local officials, developers and the community-at-large," said Peter Cartwright, President and CEO of Calpine Corporation. "We are pleased to have forged this lasting partnership with the City of San Jose and the community by more widely sharing the benefits of the Metcalf Energy Center." “The Metcalf Energy Center will assure that San Jose residents and businesses will get clean, low cost power during the summer of 2003,” added Tim Statton, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Bechtel Enterprises. "Locating new power generation where it is most needed will make blackouts and power interruptions a thing of the past.” Specific conditions of the agreement include: Neighborhood
Protection
·
MEC will convert to air quality protection technologies that
reduce or eliminate the use of liquid ammonia as soon as these systems are
approved by state regulators and are economically feasible. ·
A ten-member community advisory committee will be appointed by the
city council and Calpine/Bechtel to provide an additional and effective forum
for clear, rapid communications between the community and the energy center.
Members will include neighboring residents and representatives from the City of
San Jose, school and county agencies, business, and Coyote Valley property
interests. · Two new air-monitoring stations will be added to those already operated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). One station will be north of the MEC site, the other south, at locations to be selected by the city. Both will be monitored by an independent third party. ·
Start up and shut down of the facility will be cut back by 25
percent of the permitted amount during the first five years in order to further
reduce the emissions associated with these operations. · Calpine/Bechtel will use its best efforts to secure a “reliability must run” contract from the State of California so the plant can better ensure local reliability of energy for the Silicon Valley area and further limit the number of times it will start and stop during the year. · MEC will post all required BAAQMD monthly air quality compliance or violation reports on designated community websites to ensure conveniently accessible and timely data for the community. Community Benefits · MEC will offer competitive, long-term contracts to San Jose businesses as allowed under state regulations. These contracts will be offered exclusively to San Jose businesses during a defined period of time. · MEC will provide $5 million for parks and open space acquisition in the Santa Teresa/South San Jose area. · MEC will contribute $1 million in matching funds to the City's fund for energy conservation programs and assistance for low-income families with their residential energy bills. · MEC will contribute $500,000 to the City of San Jose “Healthy Neighborhoods Venture Fund,” which supports innovative community-based programs to improve education, health, and senior services in San Jose neighborhoods, for the purpose of the children’s health insurance initiative. Cooperation ·
Calpine/Bechtel will collaborate with the city to support specific
state legislation that would provide additional benefits for localities that
host new power plants, such as an increase in designated share of property tax
revenues. Currently, MEC is expected to contribute $3 to $4 million annually in
property taxes to schools and local governments in Santa Clara County. · The City of San Jose will provide all city services requested for MEC in a timely manner at standard rates and terms applicable to similar users. · Metcalf will pay its proportionate share of the cost of building a recycled water pipeline extension that will serve additional industrial areas of San Jose and Coyote Valley, and the city will pay the balance. · The City of San Jose will process an annexation application for the portion of the site outside the city limits and under Santa Clara County jurisdiction. The 600-megawatt, natural gas-fueled Metcalf Energy Center will provide enough electricity for approximately 600,000 households. It is expected to significantly benefit electricity consumers by adding clean, efficient and urgently needed power generation directly into the South Bay energy market. The MEC project is proposed for a 20-acre site in Southern San Jose west of Monterey Highway at the base of Tulare Hill, below the existing transmission towers and adjacent to the 40-acre Metcalf Substation owned and operated by PG&E. If MEC receives approval from the California Energy Commission this summer, construction is also scheduled to begin this summer, and commercial operation is planned for the summer of 2003. The Metcalf Energy Center is a development of San Jose-based Calpine Corporation, one of the nation's leading independent providers of electric power, and Bechtel Enterprises Holdings, Inc., the development, financing and ownership affiliate of the Bechtel organization, one of the world's premier engineering and construction companies. # # #
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