RENO, Nev., March 30, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) announced today its subsidiary has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Alevo Group SA, a leading provider of energy storage systems, to jointly build, own and operate the Rabbit Hill Energy Storage Project, located in Georgetown, Texas.
Ormat will own and fund the majority of the Rabbit Hill energy storage project and under the terms of the agreements, will provide engineering, construction services and balance of plant equipment. Alevo will provide its innovative GridBank inorganic lithium ion energy storage system in conjunction with the power conversion systems. In addition, Alevo will provide ongoing management and operations and maintenance services for the life of the project.
The 10 MW project will consist of three GridBank™ enclosures and will provide fast responding regulation services (FRRS) as an open market participant in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), an independent system operator that manages the flow of electric power to Texas customers. The project represents an important milestone in the evolution of the Texas market, which has more wind installed than any other state and has a rapidly expanding base of installed solar energy projects. Integrating renewable energy into the grid will increasingly require the flexibility and capabilities that fast, accurate storage resources provide in order to balance the grid at lowest cost.
“Entering the energy storage market is a key component of our long term growth plan, helping us to further diversify revenues and advancing our goals of transitioning from a geothermal company to a recognized leader in the renewable energy industry,” commented Isaac Angel, Chief Executive Officer. “While we do not expect our initial expansion into this area to generate material revenues for Ormat, we anticipate that collaborating with Alevo, with its innovative technology and global presence will allow us to make significant progress towards our expansion in this field. We see the energy storage market as a meaningful growth driver for Ormat and for the renewable energy industry and we continue to work on similar and other initiatives to support value for our shareholders.”
“We are pleased to be partnering with the innovative and forward looking management of Ormat and look forward to building a long lasting relationship as we move towards a more efficient energy market,” said Christopher Christiansen, President, Alevo Inc. “They have long been a leader in the renewable energy sector, and we are excited they have chosen Alevo for this exciting opportunity.”
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 72 U.S. patents, Ormat’s power solutions have been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has 450 employees in the United States and over 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 installed to utilities and developers worldwide, totaling over 2,000 MW of gross capacity. Ormat’s current 697 MW generating portfolio is spread globally in the U.S., Guatemala and Kenya.
About Alevo
Alevo, a leading provider of energy storage is redefining energy as a developer, manufacturer and provider of grid-scale energy storage solutions featuring GridBank™ & Alevo Analytics. GridBank Lithium-Ion batteries feature a proprietary inorganic electrolyte (Alevolyte™), which is non-flammable and offers extreme long life and stability. Alevo’s vertically engineered turnkey energy storage solution can be placed anywhere on the electricity supply chain, to reduce energy waste, lower greenhouse gases and other emissions, create efficiencies and lower costs. Founded in 2009, Alevo is headquartered in Switzerland with GridBank manufacturing in the US. For more information, visit www.alevo.com.
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 February 26, 2016.
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.