RENO, Nev., Sept. 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA ) announced today that it has successfully completed the 100 MW installed capacity Ngatamariki geothermal power plant in New Zealand under the $142 million Supply and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts signed with Mighty River Power (MRP) in June 2011.
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Mighty River Power's modular Ngatamariki geothermal power plant is the largest singular binary power plant ever constructed. The Ormat Energy Converters are directly fed by a high temperature (380°F / 193°C) geothermal fluid. Until now, on such resources, only steam turbines or Geothermal Combined Cycle plants were used. In this configuration, 100% of the exploited geothermal fluid is reinjected with zero water consumption and low emissions, minimizing the impact on the environment with no depletion of the underground reservoir.
Ngatamariki was built in a record time of 24 months from the contract award. During commissioning, the power plant generated 150GWh and produced its first income stream for MRP.
Dr. Doug Heffernan, Mighty River Power's CEO, said, "The plant near Taupo was completed within the forecast and had proven performance above design specifications in testing over the past three months. We're delighted with a project of this scale – the largest of its type in the world – to see it successfully completed, and with power output now expected to be 3MW (4%) higher than spec, which will be positive for the plant's economics into the future.We also expect the project to come in slightly under the total cost forecast."
Dr. Heffernan added, "The new station would add close to 700 GWh of annual electricity production, equivalent to the electricity use of about 80,000 households."
Dita Bronicki, CEO of Ormat Technologies, said, "We are pleased with the outperformance of the Ngatamariki power plant and we are confident that the effectiveness and reliability of Ormat's technology will continue to benefit our clients. During the last 25 years, Ormat has installed in New Zealand approximately 350 MW in 14 power plants, 60% of the new geothermal capacity. We look forward to expanding our activity with our partners in New Zealand and share our accumulated knowledge and experience in future geothermal development in that county and around the world."
About Ormat Technologies, Inc.
With over four decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company solely engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG). The company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter—a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. With over 82 U.S. patents, Ormat's power solutions have been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has over 500 employees in the United States and about 600 overseas. Ormat's flexible, modular solutions for geothermal power and REG are ideal for the vast range of resource characteristics. The company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has supplied to utilities and developers worldwide, totaling approximately 1600 MW of gross capacity. Ormat's current generating portfolio of 595 MW (net) is spread globally in the U.S., Guatemala and Kenya.
Ormat's Safe Harbor Statement
Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Ormat's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon its management's current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2013.
These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.
Ormat Technologies Contact: Dita Bronicki CEO 775-356-9029 Investor Relations Contact: Todd Fromer/Rob Fink KCSA Strategic Communications 212-896-1215 (Fromer)/212-896-1206 (Fink) /
