Ormat Signs 25-Year PPA for 35 MW Menengai Geothermal Project in Kenya

Ormat Technologies, Inc. announced on Monday that its majority owned Kenyan subsidiary, owned by Ormat (51%), Symbion Power LLC (24.5%) and Civicon Ltd. (24.5%), signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power and Lighting Co. Ltd (KPLC) and a project implementation and steam supply agreement (PISSA) with Geothermal Development Company (GDC) for the 35 MW Menengai geothermal project in Kenya.

Under the PISSA agreement, the project company will finance, design, construct, install, operate and maintain the Menengai steam plant on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis for 25 years.

GDC, which is wholly owned by the Government of Kenya, will develop the geothermal resource, supply the steam for conversion to electricity and maintain the geothermal field through the term of the agreement. Under the PPA, KPLC will purchase all the energy generated by the project.

The Menengai project is expected to benefit from the Partial Risk Guarantee (PRG) arrangement to be provided by the African Development Bank. Moreover, this project is part of the Power Africa initiative promoted by the U.S. Government. Such initiative was launched by President Obama in June 2013 in order to increase access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. The Project Company expects to start construction upon financial closing.

Isaac Angel, Ormat’s Chief Executive Officer, stated:

“We are extremely excited to contribute from Ormat’s expertise in the geothermal industry in building and operating this project. This will be our fifth plant in Kenya and once it is operational, we will supply 145 MW to the Kenyan grid. Upon completion of the Menengai project, more households in Kenya will gain access to cost-effective and clean power from their nation’s geothermal resources.”

Civicon Ltd. is a leading engineering and construction firm in East and Central Africa with a focus on oil & gas, power, industrial installations, transport, road & bridge and mining sectors.

Symbion Power is an American company in the electricity generation, transmission and distribution industry with operations throughout Africa.

Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a U.S.-based leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company solely engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG). Ormat's current generating portfolio of 626 MW (net) is spread globally in the U.S., Guatemala and Kenya.