Power Plant pulls out

Calpine, a South Bay energy company, wanted to place four 22.8 megawatt simple-cycled natural gas-fired turbines at Coyote Point to provide temporary power in response to this summer's shortage. But the California Energy Commission received a letter yesterday afternoon from Douglas Buchanan, Calpine's vice president for project development, essentially nixing the plan.

The letter stated that "Calpine wishes to cease further development activity and withdraw [applications] for the Martin, San Mateo and Newark substations."

Calpine had planned to operate the turbines five days a week, 12 hours a day from June 1 to October 31 of 2001, 2002 and 2003. Calpine guaranteed that the would be removed by Oct. 31, 2005.

Residents feared that noise and pollution from the turbines would destroy the quality of life of their quiet working class neighborhood. Over the past week, neighbors hosted community meetings, set up an e-mail network, made calls to the surgeon general and even attempted to call Erin Brockovich -- famous for her PG&E legal battles -- in a grass-roots effort to block the power plant. Last night, residents were set to ask the city council to intervene on their behalf.

Instead San Mateo Mayor Jan Epstein, at the City Council's regular meeting, announced that Calpine pulled its proposal.

"They said the cost and the risk of going through the permitting process was too high," Epstein said.

Neighbors gearing up for a long night and a long battle cheered the announcement.

"I figured down the road that we may have a chance, but not now," North Shoreview resident Sherry Jackson said. <