DOE Invests in Ormat Enhanced Geothermal System Research

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 7:54 PM

Symbols: ORA

Brady resource will be second EGS site for Ormat Technologies

RENO, Nev., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA) today announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has once more chosen Ormat to demonstrate the viability of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) with a grant for nearly $3.4 million to improve hot, non-commercial wells located within a stress environment and in formations favorable for permeability enhancements using EGS techniques.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/LATU099 )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040422/LATH066LOGO )

Ormat, the DOE, GeothermEx Inc., and other stakeholders will apply EGS stimulation techniques at Ormat's Brady facility near Reno, Nevada to develop fracture networks that will enable currently non-commercial wells to communicate with the productive reservoir and enhance generation

'Ormat anticipates the Brady project will have a significant impact on efforts to develop EGS resources, which are anticipated to produce substantial levels of electricity, particularly in regions where conventional geothermal resource development is not economically viable. Knowledge gained from work at the Brady EGS project will help advance EGS technology, supporting the overall growth of geothermal energy in the U.S.,' said Ormat Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Lucien Bronicki.

'With this project, it is Ormat's objective to advance the state of EGS knowledge, bringing the United States closer to realizing the vast potential of EGS, which has been estimated at approximately 100,000 MW of clean, baseload power in the DOE-supported study of EGS potential in the US by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.'

The Brady EGS project follows the current DOE-funded EGS demonstration and development project at Ormat's Desert Peak geothermal power plant, located about 10 miles from the Brady area. Upon completion of the EGS project, the Desert Peak facility will be the first application of EGS technology to supply a producing power project in the United States.