RENO, Nev., Jan. 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) announced today that it completed the Don A. Campbell geothermal power plant in Mineral County, Nevada. The plant is producing its full capacity of 16 megawatts (net) and performing as expected as of December 6, 2013.
The Don A. Campbell facility, formerly Wild Rose, is receiving a full rate of $99 per megawatt hour with no annual escalation under the terms of the Power Purchase Agreement with Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA). SCPPA is reselling the power to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Burbank Water and Power (BWP). Ormat wheels the power from the Don A. Campbell plant to SCPPA over NV Energy's transmission grid including the new One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line) recently placed in service, making Ormat the first independent power producer to use the ON Line to export renewable energy to customers in California.
"Completing the Don A. Campbell geothermal power plant and reaching full capacity is a historical milestone in our continued partnership with SCPPA to bring reliable, renewable geothermal power to California's ratepayers," said Yoram Bronicki, president and chief operating officer at Ormat. "We commend NV Energy for their success in making statewide transmission in Nevada a possibility, thereby allowing resources in northern Nevada to serve customers not only in southern Nevada but also in southern California through ON Line's completion."
With a low resource temperature of approximately 260 degrees Fahrenheit, the Don A. Campbell geothermal power plant features Ormat Energy Converter (OEC) technology, allowing for cost-effective power generation from one of the lowest temperature geothermal resources ever deployed on a utility scale by Ormat. The power plant was completed in nine months from start of mechanical construction to full output.
"Ormat's holistic approach to geothermal development, matching power plant design to the specific characteristics of the geothermal resource through rigorous exploration and field development, allowed our team of experts to work together to develop this successful project," Bronicki added. "The short construction timeline, followed by just one week of startup operation from initial synchronization to full power, is a testament to the quality of our products and our ability to execute on time and on budget.
"I'd like to extend gratitude to the Ormat team for their great effort that made this project a success and, with its completion, a symbol commemorating our late colleague Don A. Campbell. His talent and experience in the geothermal industry led to the identification of this very special field. He will truly be missed."
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 1750 MW of gross capacity. Ormat's current generating portfolio of 611 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.
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