RENO, Nev., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) announced today that an Ormat subsidiary entered into an agreement with Geotermica Platanares to acquire a late stage development geothermal project in Honduras.

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The project comprises of the rights to a field where exploration work has been conducted in the past and a Power Purchase Agreement for up to 35MW with the national utility of Honduras, ENEE.

Upon fulfillment of certain conditions precedent and the closing of the transaction, Ormat will become the owner of all project assets, including wells, land, the Power Purchase Agreement and necessary permits to develop a geothermal project. Once the well field is fully appraised and the power plant is constructed, Ormat will hold the assets under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) structure for approximately 15 years.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to develop the first geothermal power plant in Honduras and the opportunity to bring Ormat's unique capabilities to complete the project development work that has been done before" said Yoram Bronicki, president and COO of Ormat.  "Our plan is to implement our staged development strategy for green field prospects where a portion of the plant comes on line fairly rapidly and allows Honduras to benefit from the value of clean, base load renewable power while we assess the full potential of the field and work to maximize the utilization of the existing PPA." 

The Platanares project is the first geothermal project in Honduras and is regulated by the Law to Promote the Generation of Electric Energy by Renewable Resources, which was enacted in October 2007. Under this law, the project benefits from a joint payment guarantee of the government of Honduras and ENEE for power produced and from an income tax exemption during the first 10 years of operation.

About Ormat Technologies
Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically-integrated company in the geothermal and recovered energy power business. The company designs, develops, owns and operates geothermal and recovered energy-based power plants around the world. Additionally, the company designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and recovered energy power units and other power-generating equipment, and provides related services. The company has more than four decades of experience in the development of environmentally-sound power, primarily in geothermal and recovered-energy generation. Ormat products and systems are covered by 82 U.S. patents. Ormat has engineered and built power plants that it currently owns or has supplied to utilities and developers worldwide, totaling over 1,500 MW of gross capacity.  Ormat's current generating portfolio includes the following geothermal and recovered energy-based power plants: in the United States - Brady, Brawley, Heber, Jersey Valley, Mammoth, McGinness Hills, Ormesa, Puna, Steamboat, Tuscarora, OREG 1, OREG 2, OREG 3, and OREG 4; in Guatemala - Zunil and Amatitlan; in Kenya – Olkaria III; and, in Nicaragua - Momotombo.

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. 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. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2012 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2012.

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

SOURCE Ormat Technologies, Inc.