48 MW McGinness Hills Phase 3 Geothermal Power Plant in Nevada Begins Commercial Operation, Increasing Complex Capacity to 138 MW

RENO, Nev., Dec. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) today announced that the third phase of its McGinness Hills geothermal complex located in Lander County, Nevada has begun commercial operation. The 48-megawatt (net capacity) power plant started selling electricity to Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) under the Ormat Northern Nevada Geothermal Portfolio Power Purchase Agreement. SCPPA resells the entire output of the plant to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The third phase is expected to generate approximately $30 million in average annual revenue.

The third phase is utilizing the new generation of Ormat turbines that allow the power plant to generate an average net output of 48 MW from two Ormat Energy Converters (OECs) instead of three OECs, as would have been the case in the past. The improved design will increase the efficiency, capacity, and availability of the power plant. Additionally, Ormat expects the economies of scale at the McGinness Hills complex will further contribute to the complex performance.

Isaac Angel, CEO of Ormat Technologies said, “As a vertically integrated company, we have the unique advantage of controlling the entire value chain of geothermal development and during the past months we have made significant efforts to bring this additional phase of 48 MW in our McGinness Hills complex to commercial operation. The third phase of McGinness Hills, together with the projects we added during 2018, will result in a record 115 MW of incremental generation, increasing our portfolio to 910 MW. This growth will provide a meaningful contribution to our results in 2019 and beyond.”

“We are very pleased that Ormat Technologies has begun commercial operation of the third of 10 geothermal facilities that will bring renewable power to Los Angeles, helping to create a clean energy future for our city and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Reiko Kerr, Senior Assistant General Manager – Power System Engineering, Planning, and Technical Services. “Since geothermal energy is a renewable resource that is available all the time—unlike variable wind and solar energy—it offers flexibility and the ability to dispatch for use whenever it’s needed. That helps LADWP to make the transition away from coal power while maintaining a reliable power supply for Los Angeles. Once completed these geothermal projects will contribute about 5.5 percent toward our renewable energy supply.”

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 530 employees in the United States and 770 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 910 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, a Philadelphia-based company with nearly a decade of expertise and leadership in energy storage, demand response and energy management.

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/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on June 19, 2018 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.