SAN JOSE, CA - Calpine Corporation [NYSE:CPN] Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Peter Cartwright has been named by Scientific American magazine as Business Leader of the Year within the "Scientific American 50" - the magazine's prestigious annual list recognizing outstanding acts of leadership in science and technology from the past year.

Announced today, the "Scientific American 50" appears in the magazine's December issue, arriving on newsstands November 23. The complete list may also be accessed on the magazine's website at www.sciam.com. "Scientific American 50" winners will be honored November 16, at a celebration at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City.

Said Editor-In-Chief John Rennie, "Scientific American believes strongly that the best hope for a safer, healthier, more prosperous world rests in the enlightened use of technology. The 'Scientific American 50' is our annual opportunity to salute the people and organizations making that possible through their outstanding efforts as leaders of research, industry and policymaking."

Selected by the magazine's Board of Editors with the help of distinguished outside advisors, the "Scientific American 50" spotlights a Research Leader of the Year, a Business Leader of the Year and a Policy Leader of the Year. The list also recognizes research, business and policy leaders in various technological categories including Agriculture, Chemicals & Materials, Communications, Computing, Energy, Environment, Medical Treatments and more.

Cartwright has been named Business Leader of the Year in the industrial category because of his leadership in promoting low carbon electricity both in the United States and in other key markets around the world. Earlier this year, Calpine's board of directors unanimously supported an investment strategy that commits the company to investing only in low carbon power technologies, such as natural gas and renewable energy.

Cartwright said, "Calpine's goal is to continue to provide clean, affordable and low carbon electricity. Like a growing number of energy companies, Calpine recognizes that the power sector--as the largest single source of carbon dioxide--must take steps to reduce its total emissions. Calpine prides itself in being a technology leader within our industry, and I am deeply honored to be recognized by Scientific American, one of the world's leading voices for science and technology."

Past "Scientific American 50" winners for 2002 and 2003 have included Roderick MacKinnon, professor of molecular neurobiology and biophysics (2003 Research Leader of the Year, as well as winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Chemistry); Burt Rutan, president, Scaled Composites (2003 Aerospace/Business Leader); Gro Harlem Brundtland, former World Health Organization secretary general (2003 Policy Leader of the Year); Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer, General Electric Company (2002 General Technology/Business Leader); and Steven Jobs, chief executive officer, Apple (2002 Communications/Business Leader).

Founded in 1845, editorial contributors to Scientific American have included more than 100 Nobel laureates, among them Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr, Francis Crick, Stanley Prusiner and Harold Varmus. Scientific American, Inc. is a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, a U.S. subsidiary of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH, a privately held international media corporation operating in more than 40 countries. In addition to Scientific American, Holtzbrinck Publishers includes the book publishing houses Farrar, Straus & Giroux; W.H. Freeman; Henry Holt and Company; St. Martin's Press and Tor; the academic scholarly publishing company Palgrave U.S.; the College Publishing Group of Bedford Freeman Worth; and the distribution company VHPS.

Calpine Corporation, celebrating its 20th year in power, is a North American power company dedicated to providing electric power to customers from clean, efficient, natural gas-fired and geothermal power plants. The company generates power at plants it owns or leases in 21 states in the United States, three provinces in Canada and in the United Kingdom. The company, founded in 1984, is listed on the S&P 500 and was named FORTUNE's 2004 Most Admired Energy Company. Calpine is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CPN. For more information, visit www.calpine.com.

Calpine Corporation

Calpine Corporation

Calpine Corporation is helping meet the needs of an economy that demands more and cleaner sources of electricity. Founded in 1984, Calpine is a major U.S. power company, capable of delivering nearly 25,000 megawatts of clean, cost-effective, reliable and fuel-efficient electricity to customers and communities in 18 states in the United States. The company owns, leases and operates low-carbon, natural gas-fired and renewable geothermal power plants. Using advanced technologies, Calpine generates electricity in a reliable and environmentally responsible manner for the customers and communities it serves. Please visit http://www.calpine.com for more information.

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