Ormat plans to harvest more power from the depths of the earth with additional funding from the US Dept. of Treasury.
Despite failing to meet market expectations when its Q2 results were presented in August, the geothermal power company Ormat Technologies managed to secure an additional $108 million funding, according to the Israeli business daily Globes.
The new funding, provided by the US Department of the Treasury, will be invested in a new proposed geothermal power plant located in North Brawley, California. The capital is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed last year and allows for either a 30% cash grant or a federal production tax credit for renewable energy projects.
More US funding
Globes quoted Ormat CEO Dita Bronick:
“We also continuously seek out funding from programs like the ARRA that help support development of geothermal projects in the US. We expect that by the end of the year we will start construction of more than 100 MW of new projects in the US, which will make them eligible to receive ITC (in lieu of) cash grants.”
At the beginning of August, Ormat secured $350 million in loan guaranties for three new geothermal power plants in Nevada but this funding was part of a new strategy by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to provide up to 80% of loans for qualified renewable technology projects.
A long way from Yavne
Ormat Technologies was founded in the sleepy Israeli city of Yavne, located south of Tel Aviv, in 1972. They have since relocated to Reno, Nevada.
Today Ormat has operations in 71 counties ranging from Japan and Russia to Alaska in the US. Its principal area of operations are geothermal power plants. To date, Ormat has installed 1,300 MW of geothermal power across the globe.
By their nature, the plants tend to be located in geyser and volcano-rich areas as they utilize the heat produced deep underground to generate electricity.
Not Just Power from the Earth
While geothermal power production is Ormat’s main area of operation it is also active in solar power. In June Ormat, together with Israeli solar energy service provider Sunday Energy announced they will build a 1MW photovoltaic solar installation on the roof of Ormat’s factory in Yavne.
Photo via hiddedevries and story via Globes
More on Ormat:
Ormat Geothermal Reports $1.5 Million Loss
Ormat Set to Release Alaska’s Geothermal Energy Potential
Sunday And Ormat Build Largest Solar Roof in the Middle East
