Calpine, Tribe Closer to Deal on Power Plant

Calpine, Tribe Closer to Deal on Power Plant

Jul 05 - Las Vegas Review - Journal

An independent power producer and the Moapa Band of Paiutes are moving closer to their goal of building a 720-megawatt power plant on the reservation northeast of Las Vegas.

Calpine Corp. of San Jose, Calif., has obtained an air permit for the proposed natural gas-fired power plant, and the Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public meeting on the project at the North Las Vegas Airport at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11.

"I don't know I can tell you (the power plant project is) definitely moving forward," said Steve Chestnut, a Seattle attorney representing the tribe.

The tribe has not finalized an agreement with Calpine, he said, calling discussions "serious but open."

But Kent Robertson, a spokesman for Calpine, was upbeat on the project.

"The pieces are coming together," Robertson said.

The tribe has reached a settlement with the Las Vegas Valley Water District and others over water rights in the area, but it needs final approval from the secretary of the Interior Department, Chestnut said. Some of that water could be used at the Calpine power plant.

The Moapa Paiute Energy Center would use water cooling rather than air cooling. Even air-cooled plants use water, but water cooled plants use greater quantities of water and can produce electricity more efficiently.

The Moapa plant made news first four years ago when wholesale power prices were skyrocketing in the West and spot shortages created an energy crisis. Since then, the supply of power has increased and wholesale prices for power have slumped, making new plants unattractive.

Unlike other so-called merchant power companies, Calpine has continued to develop new plants in the West, Robertson said.

"We're the only ones building in California," he said. "It looks like the economy is coming back, and the economy is fueled by energy," he said. "The West continues to be a high growth area."

At the same time, many of the existing power plants, such as the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, are nearing the end of their useful life, Robertson said.

Chestnut said the key to building the plant is Calpine's completion of contracts to buy its power. Robertson said Southern Nevada would be the primary market for electricity generated at the new plant and mentioned that Nevada Power Co. has been discussing possible power contracts with many power suppliers.

For the tribe, the power plant represents hope for future prosperity on lands where they have lived almost 1,000 years, Chestnut said.

The U.S. government originally gave it 2.5 million acres of land, but Congress in 1885 reduced the reservation to 1,000 acres, he said.

"While the Las Vegas region was prospering on the lands the tribe lost, the tribe stayed in deep poverty many, many years," Chestnut said.

"The time has come for them to actually to be given a chance to rise up the ladder a little bit like their neighbors have on the tribe's land," he said.

While the tribe has established businesses including firework sales, a 100-slot machine property, they could benefit from economic development from the power plant.

Industry and businesses could be located near the plant to benefit from the facilities built by Calpine, Robertson said.

Calpine would pay the tribe to reserve water supplies for the power plant, regardless of whether the reserved water is used, and also for any water used by the plant. It would lease land from the Indians for the plant. The plant would employ about 25 workers permanently after construction is completed.

The tribe has about 290 members, most of whom live on the reservation.

For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit: http://www.energycentral.com .