Power Plant Construction Brings Jobs To Hayward
HAYWARD (KCBS) – Construction on the Bay Area's newest natural gas power plant is underway in Hayward, and a celebration was held on Wednesday to honor those who have been working on the project.
More than 500 people, most of them construction workers who've been on site since November, gathered for the event at the Calpine Corporation plant on the edge of San Francisco Bay.
Senior Vice President Joe Ronan said that the plant will provide enough power for 620,000 homes, at a time when many older plants such as Hunters Point and Potrero in San Francisco are shutting down.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
"There are some other plants throughout the state that are 50 years old that are much less efficient and much more polluting, and gradually the state will remove all of those plants so we'll have a new fleet of gas plants," said Ronan.
Andreas Clouver with the Alameda County Building and Trades Council said the big infrastructure project is already employing 400 people from a trade that's seen up to a 40 percent unemployment rate in the county.
"It's put a lot of lives back together for folks who were looking at potential for closures, and being out of work for so long," said Clouver. "I think it's really helped hundreds of folks get back on their feet and support their families."
The plant, which is set for completion in mid 2013, will be the first in the country with a voluntary federal cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
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