Ormat Industries Ltd. (TASE: ORMT) US subsidiary Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) has signed a 45-megawatt BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) agreement with New Zealand's Tikitere Geothermal Power Ltd. (TGL) to build and operate a a geothermal power plant in the Tikitere geothermal area near Rotorua, on New Zealand's north island. The company did not disclose the size of the deal.
This is Ormat's third project in New Zealand announced in the past few months. Earlier this month it won a $130 million contract - the largest ever in the company's history - with Mighty River Power Ltd. for the first stage of the Ngatamariki geothermal project. It also won a $20 million contract to supply a geothermal power station. Ormat geothermal plants already provide 260 megawatts of electricity in the country.
TGL is a joint venture vehicle for the various Maori trusts that own and administer the land. Ormat will be the project's beneficiary for an initial period of 14 years following commercial operation, after which it will be fully owned by TGL.
Ormat Technologies chairman and CTO Lucien Bronicki said, “As the first BOT project for Ormat in New Zealand, this will diversify Ormat’s portfolio that today includes operations in the US, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Kenya. Upon completion, it will expand our existing portfolio by approximately 8%."
Ormat Technologies share price rose 0.4% in New York yesterday to $22.55, giving a market cap of $1.02 billion. Ormat Industries' share price rose 4% by mid-afternoon on the TASE today to NIS 21.45, giving a market cap of NIS 2.45 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 21, 2011
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