History
ORMAT HAS HARNESSED NATURE’S RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR OVER FIVE DECADES.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE KEY MILESTONES THAT SHAPED THE COMPANY WE ARE TODAY:
- Ormat was established in 1965 by Lucien Y. Bronicki and his wife, Dita, building upon Lucien's patents and research conducted at the National Laboratory under the guidance of Harry Z. Tabor. The objective was to continue the development, manufacturing and commercialization of the small solar turbine following the discontinuation of the project in the Laboratory due to budget constrains.
- At that time, Ormat was primarily known as a pioneer of proprietary turbine designs, capable of generating electricity from low enthalpy energy resources. In its early years, Ormat focused exclusively on manufacturing power generation equipment.
600 W ORC powered by Tabor’s solar flat plate collectors
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In 1966, Ormat installed its first 600W solar-powered Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) unit, which drove an electric water pump, in Mali.
Ormat Team with the first unit before shipment to Mali
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The lack of interest at that time in solar energy led to the identification of a niche market in supplying power for telecommunication repeaters in remote areas, where the high reliability and lack of maintenance of the hermetically sealed Ormat Energy Converters (OEC) now fueled by LPG (not Solar) would be paramount. Thousands of units of up to 3 kW were sold to Telecom Companies such as Thomson, GTE, Nippon Electric, Toshiba, etc.
One of the 60 gate valve sites powered by two 600 W OECs
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In 1970s the sales to the Telecom companies as well as to gas and oil pipelines continued. One of the clients for these units was the Alyeska an oil Pipeline in Alaska, where many of the 120 units installed in 1975, powering the safety valves and SCADA system, are still in operation today.
5 MW Solar Pond Power Plant
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Following the 1973 oil crisis, interest in using solar to produce energy rose, and Ormat returned to R&D on solar. Started in 1979, a 5 MW Solar Pond Power Plant was completed In 1982 and operated for six years. The pond acted both as a solar collector and a heat storage.
Entering Geothermal and Recovered Energy Generation:
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The drop in oil prices made the Solar Pond Power Plants uneconomical and led Ormat to refocus activities on the design and manufacturing of equipment for geothermal and recovered energy power plants. The R&D continued and led to more than 100 different patents on power systems and their components.
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During the 1980s, Ormat evolved from a supplier of the power equipment only to a power plant turnkey provider, including, when needed, project financing, and finally to owner and operator of geothermal plants, including exploration, development, and operation of the geothermal field. In 1984 the Wubaska 700 KW was the first commercial ORC in operation in the US. In 1986 30 MW Ormesa I was put in operation.
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In parallel, Ormat entered the Recovered (heat) Energy Generation Market mainly from waste heat in natural gas compressor stations but also cement plants and LNG regasification terminals.
Leyte, Philippines, 50 MW
- While continuing the supply of equipment worldwide, Ormat started BOT and BOO projects overseas. The first project was the 50 MW Leyte Optimization in the Philippines, followed by the 8 MW early generation Olkaria III in Kenya, which was the first stage of what is now a 150 MW owned and operated complex.
First 28 MW Geothermal Combined Cycle Power plant in Hawaii
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In the 2000s Ormat continued to grow by development and construction of new Geothermal and Energy Recovering Projects as well as by acquisition of geothermal assets in the US and repowering them as needed. By 2010 the total capacity in the US reached 1300 MW.
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In 2004, Ormat completed an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (ORA). The transition to a public company headquartered in Reno, Nevada, enabled continued growth, expansion of its capabilities, and opportunity to participate in a wider variety of global power projects.
- In 2006, Ormat entered Turkey, delivering our first geothermal power plant, the DORA 1, with a capacity of 7.4 MW. Turkey is one of the world’s fastest growing geothermal energy markets and our presence here has grown significantly, with 900 MW of capacity across over 40 geothermal power plants now operating in the country. This is more than half of Turkey’s total geothermal operating capacity.
- Ormat’s leadership in the Recovered Energy Generation business expanded with the completion of the OREG project along the US Northern Border natural gas pipeline. From 2006 through 2009, Ormat built and installed a series of REG power plants that convert waste heat from gas turbine compressors into electricity, delivering 53 MW of generating capacity.
• In 2013, the world’s largest single binary geothermal power plant – the Ngatamariki in New Zealand – began commercial operations. Ormat provided the engineering, procurement and construction for the 100 MW geothermal project that delivers sustainable energy to power 80,000 homes annually.
In 2017, Honduras’ first utility-scale geothermal facility – the 35 MW Platanares power plant – was commissioned for commercial operation. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández participated in the official opening ceremonies in September and reiterated the country’s goal of generating 80 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2032.
Ormat Technologies Announces Closing of the Acquisition of Viridity Energy.
This is really the moment when we took the plunge into energy storage.
- In May 2018, Ormat announced that NIL 2, the third unit of the Sarulla geothermal power plant in North Sumatra, Indonesia, began commercial operation, bringing the three-facility complex to its full capacity of 330 MW. This places Sarulla among the world’s largest geothermal power plants. Each of the three 110 MW units uses both steam and brine from the geothermal resource to optimize power plant efficiency. The facility’s other two units began operating in March and October 2017 respectively.
- Kenya’s Olkaria III complex is a prime example of Ormat’s strategic, well-coordinated approach to maximizing the value of geothermal resources. In 2018, Ormat commissioned the latest addition to this geothermal power plant, vaulting its capacity to 150 MW. The complex’s first 8 MW facility started up in 2000 and over 18 years, Ormat continued to expand Olkaria III, adding new plants and building capacity.
The first two large scale utility storage projects that we brought online during 2019.
Both projects provides valuable ancillary services to the PJM market since Q1 2019.
This asset was part of a $23M non-recourse financing transaction for a portfolio of 40 MW/ 40 MWh
- April, 2020 - Ormat Announces Commercial Operation of Rabbit Hill Battery Energy Storage System Participating in Markets Run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. This is our first Texas project.
- July, 2020 - Ormat Announces Closing of the Pomona Energy Storage Facility Acquisition in California. This is our first California project.
Through every decade, Ormat has continued to make major strides forward in the geothermal energy and recovered energy industries. In the past several years, we’ve continued pursuing innovation in energy storage solutions; fields where we again show our strength as a vertically integrated solution provider.
Since Ormat began, our strong values have guided and shaped the way we work, our relationships with employees, clients, communities and other stakeholders, and the level of professionalism and spirit of innovation that accompanies every renewable power product and service we offer.
As a developer, operator and manufacturer of geothermal energy and recovered energy equipment, Ormat understands customer needs and creates field-proven solutions. Albert Einstein said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.” Our vast experience and constant feedback through both in-house and industry operations and applications has given us a full tool belt that our competitors don’t have.
Renewable energy and a vision for a cleaner, sustainable future have taken us this far – and we believe that our vision, capabilities and expertise will enable Ormat to flourish for generations.