ORA Ormat Technologies Inc

RENO, Nev., May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) and Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. announced today that the two companies entered into an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreement to build a 5.3 MW recovered energy generation facility to be located on the Northern Border Pipeline Company's (Northern Border) compressor station in Morton County, North Dakota. The facility, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009, will produce electricity without burning additional fuel. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040422/LATH066LOGO) The project, subject to regulatory approvals, will increase the utilization of the energy content by approximately 25 percent and will produce enough renewable energy to supply about 5,000 residential electric customers in Montana-Dakota's service territory. Recovered Energy Generation (REG) facilities consist of ORMAT Energy Converters (OEC) based on Organic Rankine Cycle technology, which convert recovered heat to electric power without the need for any additional fuel or water. "Ormat REG systems respond to two essential objectives in environmental conservation: energy efficiency and emission reduction," said Dita Bronicki, Chief Executive Officer of Ormat. "As the 10th Ormat REG facility installation planned on Northern Border's facilities, this project with Montana-Dakota Utilities is a testimony to the energy production capabilities of Ormat's Organic Rankine Cycle technology and highlights our continued progress in this area." "We are excited to be a part of this project and to increase our electric generation capacity with this technology," said Andrea Stomberg, Vice President of electric supply for Montana-Dakota. "It is important to us to expand our green energy efforts." In the normal operation of a compressor station, waste heat is released by the exhaust of the gas turbine driving the compressor used to compress the gas. This thermal energy can be captured and converted to electricity by the installation of an Ormat Energy Converter similar to those used in geothermal electricity generation. The project will use a heat exchanger to capture the heat from the existing gas turbine and the recovered heat is used in the OEC to produce the electrical output. About Ormat Technologies Ormat Technologies, Inc., is the only vertically-integrated company primarily engaged in the geothermal and recovered energy power business. The company designs, develops, owns and operates geothermal and recovered energy- based power plants around the world. Additionally, the company designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and recovered energy power units and other power-generating equipment, and provides related services. The company has more than four decades of experience in the development of environmentally- sound power, primarily in geothermal and recovered-energy generation. Ormat products and systems are covered by more than 75 patents. Ormat currently operates the following geothermal and recovered energy-based power plants: in the United States - Brady, Heber, Mammoth, Ormesa, Puna, Steamboat and OREG 1; in Guatemala - Zunil and Amatitlan; in Kenya - Olkaria; and in Nicaragua - Momotombo. About Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. distributes natural gas and generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides related services in the northern Great Plains. Montana-Dakota is a division of MDU Resources Group, Inc., a multidimensional natural resources enterprise traded on the New York Stock Exchange as "MDU." For more information about Montana-Dakota, visit the company's Web site at http://www.mdu.com/. Media Contacts: Celeste Eisenberg Mark Hanson Ormat Technologies MDU Resources Group 775-815-9625 701-530-1093 Investor Contacts: Todd Fromer/ Marybeth Csaby Phyllis A. Rittenbach KCSA Strategic Communications MDU Resources Group, Inc. 212-896-1215 / 212-896-1236 701-530-1057 / 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 5, 2008. 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. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040422/LATH066LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Ormat Technologies, Inc.; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. CONTACT: Media, Celeste Eisenberg of Ormat Technologies, +1-775-815-9625, ; or Mark Hanson of MDU Resources Group, +1-701-530-1093, ; or Investors, Todd Fromer, +1-212-896-1215, , or Marybeth Csaby, +1-212-896-1236, , both of KCSA Strategic Communications, for Ormat Technologies; or Phyllis A. Rittenbach of MDU Resources Group, Inc., +1-701-530-1057 Web site: http://www.ormat.com/ http://www.mdu.com/

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