(                                                                   EXHIBIT 31.1


      CERTIFICATION OF THE CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
             PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14(a) OR RULE 15d-14(a) UNDER THE
             SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Peter Cartwright, the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Calpine Corporation, certify that:

     1.  I  have  reviewed  this  quarterly  report  on  Form  10-Q  of  Calpine
Corporation (the "registrant");

     2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement
of a  material  fact or omit to  state a  material  fact  necessary  to make the
statements made, in light of the circumstances  under which such statements were
made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

     3. Based on my knowledge,  the financial  statements,  and other  financial
information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the
financial  condition,  results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as
of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

     4. The  registrant's  other  certifying  officer and I are  responsible for
establishing and maintaining  disclosure  controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

          a) Designed such disclosure  controls and  procedures,  or caused such
     disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
     ensure that material information relating to the registrant,  including its
     consolidated  subsidiaries,  is made  known to us by  others  within  those
     entities,  particularly  during the  period in which  this  report is being
     prepared;

          b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
     and  procedures  and  presented  in this report our  conclusions  about the
     effectiveness of the disclosure  controls and procedures,  as of the end of
     the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

          c)  Disclosed in this report any change in the  registrant's  internal
     control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most
     recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
     to materially  affect,  the  registrant's  internal  control over financial
     reporting; and

     5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on
our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,  to the
registrant's  auditors  and the audit  committee  of the  registrant's  board of
directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

          a) All significant  deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
     or  operation  of  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  which are
     reasonably  likely to adversely affect the registrant's  ability to record,
     process, summarize and report financial information; and

          b) Any fraud,  whether or not material,  that  involves  management or
     other employees who have a significant  role in the  registrant's  internal
     control over financial reporting.

Date: May 10, 2004

                              /s/ Peter Cartwright
                              --------------------
                                Peter Cartwright
                             Chairman, President and
                             Chief Executive Officer
                               Calpine Corporation