Ormat wins $130m. New Zealand deal

“This marks the largest EPC contract that Ormat has ever entered into for one geothermal plant,” Ormat CEO Yehudit Bronicki said.

By GLOBES CORRESPONDENT
Ormat Industries Ltd.’s US subsidiary Ormat Technologies Inc. has won a $130 million order in New Zealand, the largest ever in the company’s history. Ormat signed a supply contract and an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Mighty River Power Ltd. for the first stage of the Ngatamariki geothermal project. Construction of the power plant is scheduled to take two years.
“This marks the largest EPC contract that Ormat has ever entered into for one geothermal plant,” Ormat CEO Yehudit Bronicki said. “Our backlog since the beginning of the year has more than doubled and, as of the beginning of the second quarter, stands at record high of over $230 million. Accordingly, we are increasing our product segment guidance for 2011 by approximately 15 percent to between $90 million and $100 million.”
The Ngatamariki geothermal project is a follow-on contract with Mighty River Power and its Maori Trust partner.
New Zealand government-owned Mighty River Power is one of the most experienced geothermal operators in the world. Geothermal energy accounted for a third of its total electricity generation in the first quarter, and the Ngatamariki geothermal project is due to boost that proportion to 43% by 2013.
“The completion of this power plant will bring the total installed capacity of Ormat’s technology in New Zealand to approximately 350 megawatts in 14 plants,” Ormat Technologies chairman and CTO Lucien Bronicki Lucien Bronicki said. “New Zealand is one of the early pioneers in geothermal energy development. For the past 40 years it has been the country with the most consistent policy of support for geothermal energy and has developed advanced expertise in drilling, geophysics, reservoir engineering and operations. New Zealand consulting firms assisted many developing countries such as the Philippines, Kenya and Indonesia in geothermal development.