RENO, Nev., Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA), a leading geothermal and renewable energy company, today announced it has successfully secured 1,678 acres in Utah's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Auction. These lease acquisitions will significantly support Ormat's ongoing operations and development projects in the state, further strengthening the company's commitment to advancing renewable energy solutions and meeting Utah's increasing demand for sustainable energy.

The newly leased acres should allow Ormat to develop two new power plants near our Cove Fort facility in Utah. Exploration work on the first plant (Cove Fort 2) is expected to begin in 2025 and, pending resource availability, we expect the project to achieve a Commercial Operation Date in 2027. The second plant (Cove Fort North) will be developed at a later stage.

"We believe the parcels we targeted and successfully won have a high probability of success that will support our short- and long-term growth plans in the U.S.," said Doron Blachar, CEO of Ormat Technologies Inc. "This marks a significant milestone in our efforts to harness geothermal energy and contribute to a sustainable and low carbon future. Our team is dedicated to exploring and developing these resources to their fullest potential, providing reliable and eco-friendly energy to the people of Utah."

By leveraging nearly 60 years of advanced technologies and industry expertise, Ormat sets new standards in geothermal energy production and environmental stewardship.

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 robust plans to accelerate long-term growth in the energy storage market and to establish a leading position in the U.S. energy storage market. 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. The Company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed for utilities and developers worldwide, totaling approximately 3,400MW of gross capacity. Ormat leveraged its core capabilities in the geothermal and REG industries and its global presence to expand the Company's activity into energy storage services, solar Photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage plus Solar PV. Ormat's current total generating portfolio is 1,500MW with a 1,230MW geothermal and solar generation portfolio that is spread globally in the U.S., Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, and Guadeloupe, and a 270MW energy storage portfolio that is located in the U.S.

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. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as our projections of annual revenues, expenses and debt service coverage with respect to our debt securities, future capital expenditures, business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, development or operation of generation assets, market and industry developments and the growth of our business and operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "may", "will", "could", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "projects", "potential", or "contemplate" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words or expressions. 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. Although we believe that our plans and objectives reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we may not achieve these plans or objectives. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties and other risks described under "Risk Factors" as described in Ormat's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 23, 2024, and in Ormat's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q that are filed from time to time with the SEC.

These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and, except as legally required, we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.