                                  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 23, 2002


                               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


<PAGE>


ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

     On July 23, 2002, Calpine Corporation  announced that for the quarter ended
June 30,  2002,  it expects  net income of  approximately  $72 million and fully
diluted earnings per share of approximately $0.18 to $0.19.

ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(a)      Not applicable.

(b)      Not applicable.

(c)      Exhibits.

99.0 Press release dated July 23, 2002 - Calpine  Pre-Announces  Second  Quarter
     Earnings


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, 2002




<PAGE>


EXHIBIT 99.0

NEWS RELEASE                                              CONTACTS: 408/995-5115
                                         Media Relations: Bill Highlander, X1244
                                         Investor Relations: Rick Barraza, X1125


                  CALPINE PRE-ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS


     (SAN JOSE, CALIF.) July 23, 2002 - Calpine Corporation [NYSE:CPN] announced
today  that for the  quarter  ended  June 30,  2002,  it  expects  net income of
approximately  $72 million and fully diluted earnings per share of approximately
$0.18 to $0.19.  Additional  detail for the quarter will be provided  during its
previously scheduled conference call on Thursday, August 1, 2002, at 7:30 am PDT
when the company releases its financial results for the second quarter.

     "Calpine is continuing to meet the  challenges  facing our industry  today.
Calpine is also moving  forward on several  programs to further  strengthen  our
balance  sheet  and  to  ensure  sufficient   liquidity.   We  have  implemented
significant  reductions  in our  capital  spending  programs  and  have  reduced
overhead and other  expenditures,"  stated Calpine  Chairman,  CEO and President
Peter Cartwright.

     The company  continues  to execute  its  previously  announced  programs to
strengthen  its balance sheet and increase cash resources -- one of these is the
proposed Calpine Power Income Fund, which was announced earlier today.  Proceeds
from the proposed offering that are received by Calpine will be used for general
corporate purposes.

     Based in San Jose,  Calif.,  Calpine  Corporation is an  independent  power
company that is dedicated to providing customers with clean, efficient,  natural
gas-fired power  generation.  It generates and markets power,  through plants it
develops,  owns and operates, in 21 states in the United States, three provinces
in Canada and the United  Kingdom.  Calpine is the world's  largest  producer of
renewable  geothermal energy, and it owns and markets 1.3 trillion cubic feet of
proved  natural gas  reserves in Canada and the United  States.  The company was
founded in 1984 and is publicly  traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol  CPN.  For  more  information   about  Calpine,   visit  its  website  at
www.calpine.com.

     This  news  release  discusses  certain  matters  that  may  be  considered
"forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as  amended,  including  statements  regarding  the  intent,  belief or  current
expectations  of  Calpine   Corporation  ("the  Company")  and  its  management.
Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are
not  guarantees  of  future  performance  and  involve  a number  of  risks  and
uncertainties  that could  materially  affect  actual  results  such as, but not
limited to, (i) the timing and extent of  deregulation of energy markets and the
rules and regulations  adopted on a transitional basis with respect thereto (ii)
the timing and extent of changes in  commodity  prices for energy,  particularly
natural gas and electricity  (iii) commercial  operations of new plants that may
be delayed or prevented because of various  development and construction  risks,
such as a failure  to obtain  the  necessary  permits  to  operate,  failure  of
third-party  contractors to perform their contractual  obligations or failure to
obtain  financing on acceptable  terms (iv)  unseasonable  weather patterns that
produce  reduced  demand for power (v) systemic  economic  slowdowns,  which can
adversely  affect  consumption  of power by businesses  and consumers  (vi) cost
estimates are  preliminary and actual costs may be higher than estimated (vii) a
competitor's  development of lower-cost generating gas-fired power plants (viii)
risks associated with marketing and selling power from power plants in the newly
competitive  energy  market (ix) the  successful  exploitation  of an oil or gas
resource that  ultimately  depends upon the geology of the  resource,  the total
amount and costs to develop recoverable reserves and operations factors relating
to the  extraction  of natural  gas, (x) the effects on the  Company's  business
resulting  from the  liquidity  in the  trading  and  power  industry,  (xi) the
Company's  ability to access the capital  markets on similar  attractive  terms,
(xii) the direct or indirect effects on the Company's  business of a lowering of
its credit rating (or actions it may take in response to changing credit ratings
criteria),   including,  increased  collateral  requirements,   refusal  by  the
Company's current or potential counterparties to enter into transactions with it
and its inability to obtain credit or capital in amounts or on favorable  terms,
and  (xiii)  other  risks  identified  from  time-to-time  in  our  reports  and
registration   statements  filed  with  the  SEC,  including  the  risk  factors
identified in our Quarterly  Report on Form 10K for the quarter ending March 31,
2002,  our Annual Report on Form 10-Q for the year ended  December 31, 2001, and
other information identified from time to time on Form 8K, which can be found on
the Company's web site at  www.calpine.com.  All  information  set forth in this
news release is as of today's date, and the Company undertakes no duty to update
this information.

