The Los Esteros Critical Energy Facility is a highly efficient, natural gas-fired, combined-cycle plant located in San Jose, California.  The plant consists of four aero-derivative combustion turbines, four heat recovery steam generators and one steam turbine.  

Los Esteros was originally constructed and placed in operation by Calpine in 2003 as a four-turbine “peaking” simple-cycle facility.  In August 2013, the plant’s conversion to a combined-cycle facility was completed with the addition of a steam turbine and auxiliary systems. In addition to increasing capacity, the upgrade significantly improved the plant’s efficiency, flexibility and environmental performance.  

Fueled by natural gas and equipped with the best available emissions control technology, the Los Esteros Critical Energy Facility is one of the cleanest projects of its kind in the state.  It utilizes recycled water for cooling from the City of San Jose.

Location:	San Jose, CA
Commercial Operation Date:	March 2003
Calpine Net Interest Baseload (MW):	243 megawatts
Calpine Net Interest With Peaking (MW):	309 megawatts
Ownership:	Calpine 100%
Technology:	Natural gas-fired, combined-cycle
Turbines:	GE combustion
NERC Region:	WECC