RENO, Nev., Sept. 26, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s (NYSE: ORA ) wholly owned subsidiary entered a Joint Development Agreement with eBay Inc. for the development of a five-megawatt Recovered Energy Generation (REG) power plant to be constructed in Utah. The Joint Development Agreement allows Ormat and eBay Inc. to advance negotiations on a 20-year term contract and begin preliminary development work to supply cleaner electricity to eBay Inc.'s new Salt Lake City-based data center.
"We commend eBay Inc.'s commitment to sustainable commerce and look forward to helping them achieve their clean energy goals," said Yoram Bronicki, president and chief operating officer for Ormat. "We're hopeful that our work with eBay Inc. will continue to promote REG as a predictable, environmentally friendly energy source that provides a hedge against the variability of fossil fuel costs.
"This is a shining example of energy efficiency playing a bigger role in the U.S. energy market. REG offers a proven solution for clean energy to significantly improve energy efficiency to an existing facility. These benefits directly contribute to President Obama's national goal, set forth by Executive Order, to coordinate and strongly encourage efforts to deploy 40 gigawatt of energy efficiency in the U.S. by the end of 2020."
The development was made possible by state legislation eBay Inc. helped develop that enables non-utility energy consumers to buy and transmit power directly from energy developers. Following passage of SB12 in 2012, eBay Inc. initiated a structured procurement process, through which Ormat was selected as the winning bid. eBay Inc. aims to purchase electricity generated from a REG facility constructed and operated by Ormat and deliver that energy to serve a portion of its Utah data center load requirements.
"SB12 was a critical component to identifying Ormat as a solution to our greener energy needs," said Dean Nelson, vice president, global foundation services at eBay Inc. "This milestone points to our belief that commerce can be fundamentally more sustainable than it is today – and that eBay Inc. can be a leader in that transition. We look forward to continuing in our pursuit of contracting REG power and to reach, and possibly surpass, our goal to source at least eight percent of our energy from cleaner sources by 2015."
Ormat's REG power plants capture waste heat that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere and convert that heat into energy using an Ormat Energy Converter, similar to those used in geothermal electricity generation. With over 160 MW of installed REG capacity in North America, Ormat is the leading manufacturer and developer of waste heat recovery generation. And, with over 665 MW in North America and 1600 MW of installed gross capacity worldwide, Ormat is a front-runner in the design and supply of geothermal and REG technology in the global market.
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.
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) /
