Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center To Open in 2000; Free Tours and Exhibits Highlight World's Largest Geothermal Power Project at The Geysers.

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2000

Construction of the new $2.5 million Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center, a 6,050-square-foot showcase of how electricity is produced using geothermal steam, is now underway in Middletown, California.

"This year marks the 40th anniversary of commercial power production at The Geysers," said Fred Manuel, Senior Vice President, Calpine. "In celebration of the long successful history there, we are building this new center to highlight the important role geothermal energy contributes to California's energy mix, and to provide a gathering place for the local community and geothermal experts from around the globe."

Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. today include Ed Robey, Supervisor 1st District, Lake County Board of Supervisors; Wilda Shock, Director, Lake County Marketing Program; and Hettie Hendrickson, President, Middletown Merchants Association. Artist renderings and drawings of the new center and exhibits will be on display at the community-wide event.

The visitor center is being designed with state-of-the-art energy efficiency improvements, and will utilize a geothermal heat pump for heating and cooling. The center will include: a unique energy exhibit hall, a multi-purpose room that can seat up to 60 people for meals or 85 for meetings, a conference room, gift shop, snack bar, catering kitchen, landscaped shady picnic area, public restrooms, and a Calpine employment kiosk where visitors can seek out positions with the company throughout the U.S.

Special hands-on exhibits will include three-dimensional displays exploring geothermal geology, well drilling technology, how geothermal and natural gas power plants work, and a vast topographical model of The Geysers showing the location of each power plant in operation. Other exhibits will reveal the fascinating history of The Geysers, and explain the successful wastewater-to-electricity project in Lake County and the now under construction Santa Rosa Geysers Recharge Project, in Sonoma County.

Admission to the center will be free of charge. When it opens to the public in November 2000, the center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday-Monday and will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

For the first time in The Geysers' history, Calpine began offering free public tours of its power plants this summer. Currently offered on the 2nd and 4th Fridays and Saturdays of each month, the tour program will be expanded once the visitor center opens. Tour reservations are required and may be made by calling 1-800-525-3743. Families and children accompanied by an adult are welcome.

On the tour, visitors have the opportunity to step inside the Bear Canyon power plant, which began generating electricity in 1988. The 20 megawatts of electricity it produces is enough to meet the energy needs of 20,000 homes and businesses.

The Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center project construction team includes Bob Anderson, Robert E. Anderson Architect, Sebastopol; Ernie Barnett, Barnett Commercial Builders, Lakeport; Tom Hunt, Ruzicka Associates, Lakeport; David Vinson, Vinson Engineering, Sebastopol; and Keith Gregory, RGH Geotechnical Consultants, Napa and Santa Rosa. During construction, the project will employ about 40 local people. Exhibits are being designed by Interpretive Exhibits of Salem, Oregon.

Calpine's 19 geothermal power plants at The Geysers, fueled by more than 300 steam wells, generate enough electricity to meet the energy needs of a city the size of San Francisco--880 megawatts. Calpine is the world leader in the production of geothermal energy.

The Geysers, covering a 30-square-mile area in Lake and Sonoma Counties, is the largest and most reliable renewable energy project in the world.

The Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center is located just north of the famous Napa Valley wine country. It is approximately 1 1/2 hours from Sacramento and 2 hours from San Francisco, just south of the intersection of Highways 29 and 175 in Middletown, California. To reach the center, take Highway 29 to Central Park Drive in Middletown (traveling north on Highway 29, turn left; traveling south, turn right). The center is immediately on your right, at the corner of Central Park Drive and Pine Street (just off Highway 29).

About Calpine

Based in San Jose, Calif., Calpine Corporation is dedicated to providing customers with reliable and competitively priced electricity. Calpine is the nation's largest producer of renewable geothermal energy and is focused on clean, efficient combined-cycle, natural gas-fired generation. Calpine has launched the largest power development program in the U.S. Our goal is to generate 40,000 megawatts of electricity by 2004. To date, the company has approximately 25,700 megawatts of base load capacity and 4,700 megawatts of peaking capacity in operation, under construction, in announced development and pending acquisitions in 27 states and Alberta, Canada. The company was founded in 1984 and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CPN. For more information about Calpine, visit its website at www.calpine.com.