Steamboat Hills Geothermal Power Plant Enhancement in Nevada Begins Commercial Operation

RENO, Nev., June 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) announced that the enhancement of its Steamboat Hills geothermal power plant located near Reno, Nevada is complete and achieved commercial operation on June 6, 2020. Enhancement work included the replacement of all old generating unit equipment with new, state-of-the-art equipment and resource modifications that increased the generating capacity of the Steamboat complex by approximately 19 MW to a total of 84 MW. The new equipment will increase the productivity and efficiency of the power plant and is expected to reduce maintenance costs per kWh.

The Steamboat Hills power plant continues to sell its electricity under the current 25-year long term portfolio power purchase agreement with Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), with 100% of the 28.4 MW of capacity going to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Isaac Angel, CEO of Ormat Technologies, said, “For more than 30 years, Ormat’s Steamboat Hills power plant has been producing environmentally responsible, advanced geothermal energy in Reno for the region. Today, Ormat unveiled the new Steamboat Hills plant, benefitting from new and advanced technology which will enable this resource to continue providing clean and renewable power, more efficiently than before, for decades to come. This new state-of-the-art facility will provide additional electricity for 22,000 homes while offsetting four million tons of CO2, providing the highest level of efficiency and safety in the geothermal industry. The increased generation of our Steamboat Hills power plant helps LADWP to make the transition to 100% clean energy while maintaining a reliable and perpetual power supply for Los Angeles”.

Mr. Angel added, “This additional capacity added to our existing electricity portfolio helps us to mitigate the decrease in our product backlog, which is affected by the continuation and the increasing severity of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Currently, we no longer expect to sign a significant product sale contract in the coming months in a different market. In light of this current situation, we are continuing our efforts to expand and expedite our growth in the electricity segment and energy storage segment.”

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 63 U.S. patents, Ormat’s power solutions have been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has 578 employees in the United States and 830 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 3,000 MW of gross capacity. Ormat’s current 914 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.

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 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 2, 2020 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.