In a move that caught little attention, Competitive Power Ventures has dropped its application at the California Energy Commission for a 660-MW, gas-fired project in Vacaville, Calif.
The July 31 withdrawal letter sent to the commission said the company was reacting to slow economic conditions in northern California, plus a slump in demand for this kind of power due to renewable energy and energy efficiency development. The company didn’t call this project dead, saying only that it would be useful to “defer” action on the project for the time being. The company said it planned to retain control of the site through a long-term lease option with the city of Vacaville. The commission approved the application withdrawal on Aug. 15.
In November 2008, CPV Vacaville LLC had filed an Application for Certification seeking authority to construct and operate the CPV Vaca Station (CPVV) project, a natural gas-fired, combined-cycle facility rated at a nominal capacity of 660 MW.
The CPVV project was proposed for a 24-acre site located at the intersection of Lewis and Fry roads in a rural area within the city limits of Vacaville, Solano County. Surrounding land uses include the city of Vacaville’s wastewater treatment plant to the northwest and agricultural uses to the east, west, and south.
In a July 17 project update letter filed with the commission only two weeks before the withdrawal, CPV said this was its highest priority development project within the Pacific Gas & Electric system and that much would depend on the utility’s future power needs. It noted that it and the city had entered into a five-year extension of the lease option.
