RENO, Nev., April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ormat
Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) announced today that Sarulla
Operations Ltd. (SOL) has signed a Joint Operating Contract (JOC)
and Energy Sales Contract (ESC) for the 330 MW Sarulla geothermal
power project in Tapanuli Utara, North
Sumatra in Indonesia.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20040422/LATH066LOGO)
Ormat participation in this project includes two roles. Ormat
designed the plant and will supply its Ormat Energy Converters to
the power plant. In addition, Ormat, through its subsidiary Ormat
International, Inc., holds a 12.75% equity stake in SOL, which owns
and operates the Sarulla project. As a supplier, the company
expects to recognize revenues of $254
million related to the equipment sales over the construction
period. Other members of the consortium that owns SOL include Medco
Energi Internasional Tbk (Medco); Itochu Corporation (Itochu); and
Kyushu Electric Power Co. Inc (Kyushu).
Under the JOC, PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), the
concession holder for the project, has provided SOL with the rights
to use the geothermal field and under the ESC PT PLN, the state
electric utility will be the off-taker at Sarulla for 30 years.
The Sarulla project is the largest single contract geothermal
power project to capitalize on the large scale potential of highly
productive Indonesian geothermal resources. The project will be
implemented in three phases of 110 MW each, utilizing both steam
and brine extracted from the geothermal field to increase the power
plant's efficiency.
The Ormat technology was selected for this project as it's
maximize the efficient use of varied composition of geothermal
fluid, which in this case includes steam, brine and gases. In
addition Ormat's technology allows practically 100% reinjection of
the geothermal fluid back into the reservoir, maintaining the
sustainability of the geothermal resource thus increasing power and
mitigates the negative effect of gases.
The consortium has started preliminary testing and development
activities at the site. Construction is expected to begin after the
consortium obtains financing, which is expected to take
approximately one year. The first phase is scheduled to commence
operation in 2016. The remaining two phases are scheduled to start
within 18 months of the first phase.
The project is expected to obtain construction and term loans
under a limited recourse financing package of direct loans from the
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Asian
Development Bank (ADB), as well as loans to be provided by five
commercial banks (the MLAs). The MLAs are expected to be backed by
political risk guarantees from JBIC.
Dita Bronicki, Ormat's Chief Executive Officer, stated: "After a
long process of negotiations, we reached an agreement on the
amendments to the JOC and ESC agreements that were required for the
bankability of the project. Once the financing closes, we will be
able to recognize revenues from the supply of the equipment over
the construction period and further strengthen the performance of
our Product Segment. This project, represents our entry into
Indonesia, a region we have been
excited about for some time, We believe the potential
opportunity in Indonesia is
significant, and we look forward to pursuing opportunities in what
we anticipate will be a growing market in the years to come. I
would like to thank Pertamina, PGE, PLN and our partners for their
confidence in our technology."
About Ormat Technologies
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's
flexible, modular solutions for geothermal power and REG are ideal
for the vast range of resource characteristics. The company
has engineered and built 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 575 MW (net) includes Brady, Brawley, Heber, Jersey
Valley, Mammoth, McGinness Hills, Ormesa, Puna, Steamboat, Tuscarora, OREG 1, OREG 2, OREG 3 and OREG 4
in the U.S.; Zunil and Amatitlan in Guatemala; Olkaria III in Kenya; and, Momotombo in Nicaragua.
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:
|
Investor
Relations Contact:
|
Dita
Bronicki
|
Todd
Fromer/Rob Fink
|
CEO
|
KCSA Strategic Communications
|
775-356-9029
|
212-896-1215(Todd)/212-896-1206 (Rob)
|
dbronicki@ormat.com
|
tfromer@kcsa.com / rfink@kcsa.com
|
SOURCE Ormat Technologies, Inc.