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In Memory of Rajat Deb: Inspiring Man of Ideas and Remarkable Silicon Valley Archetype

By Anjuli Deb -- With deep sadness and profound appreciation, we share the passing of LCG's founder, Dr. Rajat K. Deb. He was our president and one of the first entrepreneurs in the computer revolution. He was also our friend, our teacher and mentor, and for a few of us, our father and grandfather.

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Calpine Announces Completion of Expansion Project at The Geysers Geothermal Complex

LCG, June 10, 2026--Calpine, a business unit of Constellation, announced early this week the completion of a 25 MW expansion project at The Geysers geothermal complex located in Sonoma County, California. The addition builds on Calpine's continued investments in The Geysers to support California's renewable energy goals and to provide reliable, around-the-clock renewable power as the demand for clean electricity continues to grow.

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Industry News

SMUD May Cancel 1000 MW of New Generation

LCG, May 20, 2002-The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is considering canceling plans to build the Consumnes Power Plant.

The plans were to build the 1000 MW gas-burning plant next to out-of-commission Rancho Seco, using 8,000 acre-feet of water from the American River for cooling. The California Energy Commission questioned this water usage, preferring power plants to use reclaimed water or dry cooling methods over high-quality water when possible.

SMUD says that it would cost significantly more to build the Consumnes plant without the use of American River water. The steeper price tag decreases the chances of SMUD choosing to build the plant by 25 to 50 percent.

The first phase of building, to generate 500 MW, was scheduled to be operational in 2005 and would have cost $374 million to build. The second phase would have come on-line sometime around 2008. SMUD says that cooling the plant with sewage treatment plant water, 26 miles away, would cost $45 million extra in construction and $8 million in operation over 30 years. Air cooling would add $42 million in construction and $291 million in operation.

Apparently SMUD is fairly upset about the permitting process, and according to the Sacramento Bee, former SMUD chief and current chairman of the California Power Authority David Freeman said, "They're pretty angry; these folks are not in the habit of being regulated. It brings out the animal in them."

While the potential cancellation of this plant will not be seriously detrimental to the region, the pattern of delay is worrying some people because more generation or better transmission is necessary for grid stability in the Sacramento region. Two other area plant projects have also been delayed; they are the Roseville and Rio Linda-Elverta projects.

A SMUD report detailing options for the project is due in June.

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