Ormat’s Puna Geothermal Venture and Hawaiian Electric Announce Amended Power Purchase Agreement
January 06 2020 - 5:40AM
Ormat Technologies, Inc.1 (NYSE: ORA) today announced that its
subsidiary, Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV), and Hawaiian Electric’s
Hawaii Electric Light subsidiary have reached an agreement on an
amended and restated power purchase agreement (PPA) for
dispatchable geothermal power sold from Ormat’s Puna complex,
located on the Big Island of Hawai’i.
The new PPA extends the term until 2052 with an
increased contract capacity of 46MW and a fixed price of $70.00/MWh
with no escalation, regardless of changes to fossil fuel pricing.
The amended PPA was filed with the Public Utilities Commission
(PUC) on December 31, 2019 for its review and approval, which is
anticipated during 2020.
Ormat is planning to replace ten 25-year-old
steam units with two new Ormat binary units and to upgrade the
existing auxiliary equipment. This upgraded facility will utilize
the same amount of geothermal resource that the existing 38 MW
facility requires. The modern equipment, with increased efficiency,
will increase the Puna complex generating capacity by 8 MW to a
total of 46 MW and will significantly reduce the operating costs.
The commercial operation date (COD) of the new plant is expected
during the first half of 2022. The existing PPA remains in effect,
with current terms, until the expansion is completed, and the new
plant reaches its COD.
The 38 MW Puna power plant has been shut down
since the volcanic eruption and we are on track to bring it to full
capacity by the end of the second quarter of 2020.
“Ormat’s reconstruction efforts to bring the
38MW complex back to operation are underway, and we continue our
geothermal field recovery work. We expect to be able to sell the
electricity produced at PGV as soon as we receive the relevant
permits required from local authorities,” commented Isaac Angel,
Ormat’s Chief Executive Officer. “According to the amended PPA, we
expect the total revenue from energy and capacity payments,
including the new 8 MW generating capacity, to be approximately 5
to 7% higher than the prior levels before the eruption.”
“We are proud to partner with Hawaiian Electric
and enable Hawai’i’s commitment to clean energy and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. As Hawai’i continues to pursue the goal
of achieving 100% of its electricity generation from renewable
sources, PGV is an increasingly critical source of renewable energy
and capacity, unaffected by volatile fossil fuel pricing, in this
region,” said Mr. Angel.
“For nearly 30 years, Puna Geothermal has been
an important resource that has enabled Hawaii Island to
significantly reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels,” said
Sharon Suzuki, president of Hawaiian Electric’s Maui County and
Hawai‘i Island utilities. “We appreciate the willingness of the
Ormat team to work with us on an amended contract that benefits
customers and accelerates our transition to 100 percent renewable
energy.”
ABOUT ORMAT TECHNOLOGIES
With over five decades of experience, Ormat
Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only
vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered
energy generation (“REG”), with the objective of becoming a leading
global provider of renewable energy. 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 77 U.S. patents, Ormat’s power solutions have
been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental
conditions. Ormat has 584 employees in the United States and 762
overseas. Ormat’s flexible, modular solutions for geothermal power
and REG are ideal for vast range of resource characteristics. The
Company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants,
which it currently owns or has installed to utilities and
developers worldwide, totaling over 2,900 MW of gross capacity.
Ormat’s current 917 MW generating portfolio is spread globally in
the U.S., Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, and Guadeloupe.
Ormat expanded its operations to provide energy storage and energy
management solutions, by leveraging its core capabilities and
global presence as well as through its Viridity Energy Solutions
Inc. subsidiary.
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’s Form 10-K
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March
1, 2019 and from time to time, in Ormat’s quarterly reports on Form
10-Q that are filed with the SEC.
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.
________________________________
1 Ormat Technologies, Inc. is also referred to herein as the
“Company”, “Ormat”, “we” or “us”
Ormat Technologies Contact: Smadar Lavi VP Corporate Finance and
Head of Investor Relations 775-356-9029 (ext. 65726)
slavi@ormat.com |
Investor Relations Agency Contact: Rob Fink FNK IR 646-809-4048
rob@fnkir.com |
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