Industry News

Silicon Valley Power recently broke ground on the $165-million Von Raesfeld power plant sited on 2.86 acres in Santa Clara, Calif. Locally owned and operated, the 147-megawatt gas-fired plant is expected to reach completion in late 2004.

Indianapolis, Ind.-based Polaris Laboratories has opened a new fluid analysis testing facility in Houston. The 5,000-sf laboratory, which can complete most routine testing in 24 hours, has the capacity to process 3,000 samples per day. Polaris provides fluid analysis testing to the transportation, power generation, and gas compression industries.

Calpine Corp., a San Jose-based independent energy producer, will construct the new $500-million East Altamont power plant in eastern Alameda County, Calif. The 1,100-megawatt plant will be located one mile west of the San Joaquin County line and one mile southeast of the Contra Costa County line. The combined-cycle facility will be fueled by natural gas and will incorporate state-of-the-art emissions control technology. The plant will be required to use reclaimed water for cooling depending on availability, and providing the cost is comparable or less than the cost of fresh water.

Cielo Wind Power of Austin is developing the Brazos Wind Ranch, a 160-megawatt wind farm located 70 miles southeast of Lubbock. The project, a partnership between Cielo and Oakland, Calif.-based Orion Energy, will consist of 160 towers in the Borden and Scurry counties in Northwest Texas. Construction began in July 2003 and will progress on an aggressive six-month schedule so the wind farm can be operational by year-end. Contractor for the project is MA Mortenson Co. of Minneapolis.

Houston-based Tractebel North America will build a $300-million, 800-megawatt power generating system in Ennis, Texas. The plant is the third in north Texas for Tractebel and the second of its kind in Ennis. Tractebel is the energy division of French-based global energy services conglomerate Suez Group.