Los Esteros Critical Energy Facility

The Los Esteros Critical Energy Facility (LECEF) is a natural gas-fired power plant located at 800 Thomas Foon Chew Way, northern San Jose, Santa Clara County.

LECEF, Phase 1 (01-AFC-12C), was originally granted a license by the California Energy Commission (CEC) on July 2, 2002, and became operational in March 2003. LECEF, Phase 1, was a 180-megawatt (MW), simple-cycle peaking facility consisting of four General Electric LM6000 SPRINT natural gas-fired, simple-cycle turbines. Phase 1 was also the subject of a recertification hearing before the CEC under Docket 03-AFC-02. Recertification was granted in the Commission Decision adopted on March 16, 2005. Because this recertification was filed under Docket 03-AFC-2 and was licensed, LECEF Phase 1 is now handled under the compliance proceeding for Los Esteros 2 (03-AFC-2C).

LECEF, Phase 2 consists of the converted Phase 1 and is a 320 MW combined-cycle facility through the addition of heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) tube sections and associated evaporator drums and piping, HRSG duct burners, a nominal 140 MW steam turbine generator, a six-cell cooling tower, ancillary equipment, and a 230 kV transmission interconnection with the Silicon Valley Power Switching Station. As part of the combined-cycle conversion, LECEF was authorized to change the permanent point of interconnection from the underground line (connecting to the PG&E Los Esteros Substation, as approved in the 2002 Decision) to a 230 kV transmission line connecting to the Silicon Valley Power Substation.