UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                       Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of

                       the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 24, 2003


                               CALPINE CORPORATION

                            (A Delaware Corporation)

                        Commission File Number: 001-12079

                  I.R.S. Employer Identification No. 77-0212977


                           50 West San Fernando Street

                           San Jose, California 95113

                            Telephone: (408) 995-5115





ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

NEWS RELEASE                                            CONTACTS: (408) 995-5115
                                        Media Relations: Katherine Potter, x1168
                                         Investor Relations: Rick Barraza, x1125


               CALPINE SUBSIDIARY ANNOUNCES SECURED NOTES OFFERING
       Peaker Financing Represents Another Milestone in Liquidity Program

     (SAN  JOSE,  CALIF.)  July 24,  2003 - Calpine  Corporation  [NYSE:CPN],  a
leading North American power company, today announced that Gilroy Energy Center,
LLC (GEC), a wholly owned,  stand-alone subsidiary of the Calpine subsidiary GEC
Holdings,  LLC,  intends to sell  approximately  $270 million of Senior  Secured
Notes Due 2011.  The  senior  secured  notes  will be  secured  by GEC's and its
subsidiaries'  11  peaking  units,  located at nine  power  generating  sites in
northern  California.  The notes will also be secured by a long-term power sales
agreement  for 495  megawatts of peaking  capacity  with the State of California
Department of Water Resources, which is being served by the 11 peaking units.

     Net proceeds will be used to reimburse  costs  incurred in connection  with
the  development,  construction,  and  purchase  of,  repairs,  improvements  or
additions  to, the peaker  projects,  and for general  corporate  purposes.  The
noteholders' recourse will be limited to the assets of GEC and its subsidiaries.
Calpine will not provide a guarantee of the Senior Secured Notes Due 2011 or any
other form of credit support.

     In connection with this offering,  GEC is negotiating with a third party on
a preferred equity investment in GEC, totaling  approximately $74 million, which
the company  does not expect to  complete  by the closing of the Senior  Secured
Notes Due 2011. Therefore, the net proceeds of the senior notes offering will be
held  in  an  escrow  account,  pending  completion  of  this  preferred  equity
investment.  If the preferred equity investment is not completed, GEC will offer
to repurchase the Senior Secured Notes Due 2011 at a price of 101%, plus accrued
interest.

     The Senior  Secured  Notes Due 2011 will be offered in a private  placement
under Rule 144A,  have not been and will not be registered  under the Securities
Act of 1933, and may not be offered in the United States absent  registration or
an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This press release shall
not  constitute  an  offer  to  sell or the  solicitation  of an  offer  to buy.
Securities  laws  applicable  to  private  placements  under Rule 144A limit the
extent of information that can be provided at this time.







SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                               CALPINE CORPORATION


                          By: /s/ Charles B. Clark, Jr.
                              -------------------------
                              Charles B. Clark, Jr.
                      Senior Vice President and Controller
                            Chief Accounting Officer

Date:  July 24, 2003