Ormat, Great River Energy in power purchase deal

Reno, Nev.-based Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) said today that it signed a long term agreement to sell recovered energy generation to Great River Energy, a Minnesota utility.

Ormat said the 20 year power purchase agreement is for a new 5.3 megawatt facility in Minnesota that is expected to convert the recovered waste heat from the exhaust of an existing gas turbine into electricity.

"We are encouraged by the increased attention to energy efficiency and the confidence in our REG technology," said Dita Bronicki, CEO of Ormat.

Ormat said it plans to recover waste heat from a turbine located at a compressor station along the Northern Border natural gas pipeline.

The company said it has already secured the rights to the waste heat for its new facility.

"While each of our REG power plants along the Northern Border pipeline is only about 5 MW, when combining the opportunities along this one pipeline alone, we are generating power equivalent to the capacity of one of our 50 MW geothermal power plants," said Bronicki.

Ormat, which is also involved in the geothermal business, signed a deal last December with Rosemead, Calif.-based Southern California Edison for the supply of steam power (see Edison to add up to 185.5 MW of wind, geothermal).

Ormat said the Minnesota recovered energy generation facility would use energy converter based on Organic Rankine Cycle technology, which converts recovered heat to electric power without the need for any additional fuel or water.

The company expects the plant to be commissioned in 2009 or early 2010.