Calpine Begins Construction of 365-Megawatt Mankato Energy Center

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN)(San Jose, California) has started construction of the $180 million Mankato Energy Center in Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minnesota.

Construction on the project started a couple weeks ago and is anticipated to be ready for full commercial operation by Fall 2006. The project will consist of one combined-cycle power island that will utilize a 185-megawatt natural gas-fired Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation W501FD combustion turbine generator, a Nooter/Erickson heat recovery steam generator, and a 180-megawatt Toshiba International Corporation condensing steam turbine generator. The plant will also have an additional Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation W501FD combustion turbine generator that will act as a peaking unit, providing Mankato with the option of converting the plant into a two-on-one combined-cycle plant, if desired, in the future.

Upon completion, Mankato will be connected to the grid through Xcel Energy’s Wilmarth Substation. Plans for 1,000 feet of a single-circuit 345-kV line and a double-circuit 115-kV line to expand the substation to further support the project have been put in motion as well. The energy generated by Mankato will be sold to Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL)(Minneapolis, Minnesota) under a 10-year power purchase agreement.

Parsons Power Group Incorporated, headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, will perform the engineering for the project. Calpine will act as the general contractor for the project.

View Plant Profile - 1060412
View Project Report - 30000728

Industrialinfo.com is the leading provider of global industrial market research. We specialize in helping companies develop information solutions to maximize their sales and marketing efforts.