News
Nov 03, 2009Ormat Announces Re-Purchase of Part-Ownership Interest in Geothermal Projects
Ormat Technologies, Inc. Announces Re-Purchase of Part-Ownership Interest in Certain of Its Geothermal Power Projects From an Institutional Equity Investor
RENO, Nev., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/—Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) today announced that on October 30 its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ormat Nevada Inc., concluded the purchase of all of the class B membership interests in OPC LLC held by Lehman-OPC LLC, an affiliate of Lehman Brothers Inc., for a purchase price of $18.5 million. A substantial portion of the sale of the class B membership interests by Ormat was accounted for as a financing. As a result, the repurchase of these interests at a discount will result in a pre-tax gain of approximately $13 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040422/LATH066LOGO)
OPC LLC was initially established by Ormat Nevada to hold its Desert Peak 2, Steamboat Hills, Galena 2, and Galena 3 geothermal power projects (all located in Nevada) jointly with Morgan Stanley Geothermal LLC, an affiliate of Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, and Lehman-OPC LLC, as institutional equity investors.
The purchase from Lehman-OPC LLC of all of its class B membership interests was concluded pursuant to a right of first offer in favor of each of the members of OPC LLC under its limited liability company agreement. Ormat Nevada will continue to operate and maintain the projects and will continue to receive initially all of the distributable cash flow generated by the projects until it gets back the capital it has invested in the projects. In addition, in its capacity as a holder of the acquired class B membership interests, Ormat Nevada will now also be entitled to a share of the production tax credits and the taxable income or loss, and the distributable cash flow after it has received its return of capital.
To view the whole article click here.
About Ormat Technologies
Ormat Technologies, Inc. is the only vertically-integrated company primarily engaged 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 75 U.S. patents. Ormat has built over approximately 1,200 MW of plants half for its own account and half as supplies to utilities and developers. Ormat’s current generating portfolio includes the following geothermal and recovered energy-based power plants: in the United States - Brady, Heber, Mammoth, Ormesa, Puna, Steamboat, OREG 1, OREG 2 and Peetz; in Guatemala - Zunil and Amatitlan; in Kenya - Olkaria; in Nicaragua - Momotombo and in New Zealand - GDL.
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 March 2, 2009.
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.
Oct 31, 2009
DOE Awards $338M for Geothermal R&D
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $338 million in Recovery Act funding for geothermal research and development. The grants were awarded to 123 projects in 39 states, across private industry, academic institutions, tribal entities, local governments, and DOE’s national laboratories. The grants will be matched more than one-for-one with an additional $353 million in private and non-Federal cost-share funds, according to the DOE.
These grants target projects that identify and develop new geothermal fields and reduce the upfront risk associated with geothermal development. The grants will also support the deployment and creative financing approaches for ground source heat pump demonstration projects across the country.
The projects selected for negotiation of awards fall into six categories:
- Innovative Exploration and Drilling Projects (up to $98.1 million for 24 projects)
- Coproduced, Geopressured, and Low Temperature Projects (up to $20.7 million for 11 projects)
- Enhanced Geothermal Systems Demonstrations (up to $51.4 million for 3 projects)
- Enhanced Geothermal Systems Components Research and Development/Analysis (up to $81.5 million up to 45 projects)
- Geothermal Data Development, Collection and Maintenance (up to $24.6 million 3 projects)
- Ground Source Heat Pump Demonstrations (up to $61.9 million for 37 projects)
DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Program works in partnership with U.S. industry to establish geothermal energy as an economically competitive contributor to the U.S. energy supply.
To learn more about the DOE’s program click here!
CanGEA has been working hard to get attention from the Canadian government regarding funds needed for geothermal research and development. Maybe Obama’s lead here, through his $338 million contribution to geothermal in the United States, will encourage the Canadian government to do the same here in Canada.
Oct 26, 2009
CanGEA Hosts Investment Workshop and Networking Reception in Calgary!!
CanGEA is pleased to present our “2009 Geothermal Energy Investment Workshop and Networking Reception”
Click here for all the details!
Where:
The Westin Calgary
320 4th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB
T2P 2S6
When:
December 3rd, 2009
Investment Workshop and Conference: 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Networking Reception: 5:00pm - 7:30pm
The workshop will provide:
- a unique opportunity to learn more about Canada’s geothermal industry
- information on geothermal energy’s potential for reducing carbon emissions
- material on improving the reputation of Alberta’s energy sector
- the ability to network with the companies and individuals that are moving this exciting industry forward
Registration is limited, so don’t pass up the opportunity to learn more about Canada’s hottest new play, geothermal!
For information on sponsorship of this event or membership with CanGEA and associated conference discounts, contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Oct 22, 2009
Sierra Geothermal Power to hold a special meeting of shareholders
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—(Marketwire)—10/22/09—Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. (SGP) (TSX VENTURE: SRA) today announced that it has scheduled a special meeting of shareholders. The meeting is being scheduled as a result of a requisition by a shareholder, as noted in a news release on October 2, 2009.
The meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday January 26, 2010 at 10:00 am. It will be held at the offices of Clark Wilson LLP (CanGEA Member) at 800-885 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 3H1. The record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice of the meeting and to vote at the meeting is set as December 15, 2009.
Further details, including the text of the requisition, will be contained in a Management Information Circular that will be mailed to shareholders nearer to the record date. The formal meeting notice has been filed on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com : http://www.sedar.com and mailed to shareholders.
About Sierra Geothermal Power Corp.
Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. is a renewable energy company focused on the exploration and development of clean, sustainable geothermal power. It is based in Vancouver, British Columbia and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SRA. Its portfolio of geothermal projects located in Nevada and California exceeds 90,000 acres and has a combined total estimated capacity of greater than 500 MW. SGP intends to finance development by utilizing a combination of corporate equity, joint venture partnerships and project debt, with the support of US government grants and loan guarantees. To find out more about Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. (TSX VENTURE: SRA) visit our website at http://www.sierrageopower.com : http://www.sierrageopower.com .
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Gary Thompson, P.Geo, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Please click here to view from the original source.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are projections of events, revenues, income, future economic performance or management’s plans and objectives for future operations. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of terminology such as “may”, “should”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “expects”, “intends”, “forecasts”, “plans”, “future”, “strategy”, or words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements about SGP’s intent to finance the development of its projects through a combination of corporate equity, joint venture partnerships and project debt with the support of U.S. government grants and loan guarantees. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risks inherent in our industry, the challenging capital markets and other risks identified by us in our periodic filings on SEDAR (which can be viewed at http://www.sedar.com : http://www.sedar.com ). Any of these risks could cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
While these forward-looking statements and any assumptions upon which they are based are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of its business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested in this press release. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of Canada, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Sierra Geothermal Power Corp.
Gary Thompson
President & CEO
(604) 683-0332 / 1-800-563-5631
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) : .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Sierra Geothermal Power Corp.
Anthony Srdanovic
Investor Relations
(604) 642 6179
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) : .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.sierrageopower.com : http://www.sierrageopower.com
Oct 22, 2009
CanGEA Members: Ormat, Magma Energy, and Ram Power in Badiali’s interview with The Energy Report
CanGEA Members, Ormat Technologies Inc., (NYSE:ORA), Magma Energy Corp. (TSX:MXY), and Ram Power Corp. (TSX:RPG) are given mention and praise in Matt Badiali’s Interview with The Energy Report. Please read the following excerpt.
(TER = The Energy Report)
(MB = Matt Badiali, S&A Resource Report editor)
TER: Could you give us a quick synopsis of your view of the geothermal market as an investment? It’s been attracting a lot of attention of late.
MB: There are two very different investment theses behind some of the companies in this space. Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) is a play on everybody else getting excited about geothermal. It does produce some geothermal energy, but it is more the general store for the geothermal industry.
And I think if any form of cap-and-trade passes that makes coal-generated electrical power much more expensive, Calpine Corp. (NYSE:CPN) is going to make a lot more money. I’ve actually visited the geysers, which is where Calpine produces a lot of its geothermal energy. They generate hundreds of megawatts and it’s silent, the coolest thing in the world.
TER: It sounds as if geothermal appeals to you.
MB: It does. What really what gets me excited about geothermal is that it works. It’s not solar and wind, which need subsidies; and it’s not tidal energy that works well on some engineer’s drawing board, but doesn’t translate into the real world.
I’ve heard that every megawatt of wind or solar energy needs a megawatt of natural gas or some other consistent power source to back it up, because there’s no way to store this energy. If you produce wind power and suddenly the wind stops blowing at peak hours, you have to be able to turn something else on and generate that electricity.
Geothermal works. It’s an economic, 24-hours-a-day source of power, and it makes a lot of sense. That’s why I’m glad to see these new mid-sized entrants into the geothermal space. I think it will be a race between Ram Power Corp. (TSX: RPG) and Magma Energy Corp. (TSX:MXY) to roll up the junior geothermal industry.
To read the entire interview click here.
Oct 20, 2009
Ram Power, Corp. Completes Business Combination with Polaris Geothermal Inc. & Western GeoPower
Vancouver, British Columbia (October 20, 2009) – Ram Power, Corp. (TSX: RPG) (formerly GTO Resources Inc.) (“Ram”), Polaris Geothermal Inc. (“Polaris”) and Western GeoPower Corp. (“Western”) are pleased to announce that they have completed the previously announced arrangement involving Ram, Polaris and Western under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the “Arrangement”). Pursuant to the Arrangement, Ram acquired all of the issued and outstanding securities of Polaris and Western. Concurrent with the closing of the Arrangement, Ram completed the acquisition of issued and outstanding shares of Ram Power, Inc. (“Private Ram”), a private Delaware corporation (the “Ram Acquisition”). The Arrangement was approved at meetings of the securityholders of each of Ram, Polaris and Western held on October 15, 2009 and received the final approval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia on October 19, 2009. As a result of the Arrangement and the Ram Acquisition (collectively, the “Business Combination”) each of Polaris, Western and Private Ram are now subsidiaries of Ram.
Concurrent with the completion of the Business Combination, the board of directors and management of Ram were reconstituted. The board of directors of Ram is currently comprised of Yeheskel (Hezy) Ram, A. Murray Sinclair, Daryl S. Clark, Christopher Thompson and Walter (Mike) Higgins. The current officers of Ram are Yeheskel (Hezy) Ram (President and Chief Executive Officer), Paul Zavesov (Vice President and Chief Financial Officer), Daniel N. Schochet (Executive Vice President), C. Thomas Ogryzlo (Senior Vice President, Latin American Operations), Stuart D. Johnson (Vice President, Geothermal Resources), Christall L. Morris (Vice President, Land and Permitting), Oded (Eddie) Sadan (Vice President, Business Development) and Eduard (Edi) Koren (Vice President, Sales and Marketing).
In addition, in connection with the completion of the Business Combination, the subscription receipts issued pursuant to the subscription receipt financing (the “Financing”) completed by Ram on August 20, 2009, were automatically exercised today into 59,800,000 common shares of Ram. The gross proceeds of the Financing in the amount of $179,400,000, less the agents’ fee and expenses of the Financing, were released from escrow to Ram. Ram will use the proceeds of the Financing to develop its key projects and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The common shares of Ram will commence trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol “RPG”.
For further details regarding the Business Combination, including information regarding the directors and management of Ram, please refer to the joint management information circular of Ram, Polaris and Western dated September 18, 2009, a copy of which is available under the corporate profiles of each of the corporations on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval at http://www.sedar.com.
About Ram
Ram is a renewable energy company based in Reno, Nevada and is engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring, developing and operating geothermal properties and has an interest in geothermal projects primarily in California, Nicaragua and Nevada. Ram’s business strategy is to acquire, explore, develop and operate geothermal projects in the United States, Canada and internationally to enable it to profit from the growing demand for green energy around the world and to become a leading global renewable power project developer, owner and operator.
Cautionary Statements
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S Securities Act”), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to United States Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, Inc., the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has in any way passed upon the merits of transaction which is the subject of this press release and none of the foregoing entities has in any way approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release.
This press release contains “forward- looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws relation to Ram, including information regarding the business of Ram and the use of proceeds from the Financing. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by this information depending on, among other things, the risk that Ram does not realize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Ram, Polaris and Western undertake no obligation to update forward looking information, other than as required by law, or comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Ram, Polaris or Western or their respective financial or operation results or (as applicable), their securities.
Oct 18, 2009
DOE buys Ormat built geothermal plant in oil field near Casper
CASPER - A geothermal plant that adds electricity production to the output of an old oil field 35 miles north of Casper has been sold to the U.S. Department of Energy for an undisclosed amount.
CanGEA member, Ormat Technologies, of Reno, Nev., built the plant at the Teapot Dome field to prove the technical feasibility of using hot water associated with oil production to generate electricity. The plant was designed to produce 250 kilowatts of electricity, according to the Department of Energy. It has been operating for more than a year.
“We’re taken a huge step by proving the technology works,” said Paul Thomsen, Ormat’s director for policy and business development. “The bigger question is, are there other sites like this throughout the country that we could implement this type of project? We are still doing the market analysis on that.”
To read more about Ormat in this article click here.
Oct 16, 2009
Glitnir Acquires 95% of Islandsbanki’s Share Capital
In a joint announcement on October 15, 2009, the Resolution Committee of Glitnir, the Icelandic Ministry of Finance and Islandsbanki (CanGEA member) announced that Glitnir on behalf of the creditors has acquired 95% of Islandsbanki’s share capital.
This clarifies the ownership of the bank and will have a positive impact on the Bank’s activities and is an important milestone in building a new bank.
Islandanki will continue to focus on the Icelandic domestic market but also its core niche market activities internationally. This includes geothermal energy, where Islandsbanki builds upon the success of Glitnir’s Global Geothermal Energy team, which maintained its work within the Bank.
“The clarification of the ownership structure will help us serve the Geothermal Industry going forward.”, says Árni Magnússon the Head of Islandsbanki’s Geothermal Energy Team.
Oct 15, 2009
Interview with Ross Beaty of Magma Energy Corp on his views on further development
“Today, geothermal represents a tiny piece of the global energy mix, but it is growing rapidly in some western U.S. states and more than 20 other countries where the ground is literally hottest. According to the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association, global geothermal production may triple over the next 10 to 30 years as demand for clean power increases. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, entrepreneur extraordinaire Ross J. Beaty talks about how he intends to offer investors a heretofore unavailable opportunity to ride that growth wave, what sparked his interest in the geothermal arena, and where he sees many similarities between mining for metals and capturing the energy from the magma beneath the earth’s crust. (Hot water and steam from the magma are piped to the surface to drive turbines to generate electricity).
Ross, who has earned himself a sterling reputation and world renown for scratch-building wealth-creating resource companies, is applying his considerable expertise and team of experts to a new enterprise, Magma Energy Corp. The company just went public in a heavily oversubscribed IPO in July.
To read the full interview click here.
Oct 15, 2009
Magma raises C$21.5 mln to fund stake in HS Orka
CanGEA Member, Magma Energy Corp., purchases stake in Iceland’s HS Orka. Whole story (from Reuters) below.
OTTAWA, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Canadian geothermal power company Magma Energy Corp (MXY.TO) said on Thursday it will use funds from a C$21.5 million ($20.8 million) private placement for its purchase of a stake in Iceland’s largest privately owned energy company, HS Orka.
Net proceeds of C$20.78 million will fund Magma’s initial purchase of an 8.62 percent stake in HS Orka. That deal is expected to close before the end of October.
In August, Magma said it would acquire an additional 32 percent share of the geothermal energy producer. That acquisition is expected to be completed in November.
Magma Chief Executive Ross Beaty will buy 25 percent of the placement of 11.65 million shares priced at C$1.85 apiece.
Magma, which is seeking to boost its geothermal power production capacity, raised C$100 million in an initial public offering in July.
About Magma Energy Corp.
Magma Energy Corp is a geothermal energy company focused on exploration, development, acquisition and operation of geothermal energy projects globally. The Company currently owns one operating geothermal plant and an extensive portfolio of geothermal exploration and development projects in Argentina, Chile, Peru and western USA and is actively expanding its projects portfolio worldwide.
