48 MW McGinness Hills Phase 3 geothermal plant starts operation in Nevada
McGuinnes Hills geothermal plant, Nevada (source: Ormat)
Alexander Richter
20 Dec 2018
Ormat Technologies has brought the 48 MW McGinness Hills Phase 3 geothermal plant online, increasing the total capacity of the McGinness Hills geothermal complex to 138 MW.
In a release today, Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) announced that the third phase of its McGinness Hills geothermal complex located in Lander County, Nevada has begun commercial operation. The 48 MW (net capacity) power plant started selling electricity to Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) under the Ormat Northern Nevada Geothermal Portfolio Power Purchase Agreement. SCPPA resells the entire output of the plant to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The third phase is expected to generate approximately $30 million in average annual revenue.
The third phase addition to the McGinness Hills geothermal plant complex increases the total capacity to 138 MW.
The third phase is utilizing the new generation of Ormat turbines that allow the power plant to generate an average net output of 48 MW from two Ormat Energy Converters (OECs) instead of three OECs, as would have been the case in the past. The improved design will increase the efficiency, capacity, and availability of the power plant. Additionally, Ormat expects the economies of scale at the McGinness Hills complex will further contribute to the complex performance.
Isaac Angel, CEO of Ormat Technologies said, “As a vertically integrated company, we have the unique advantage of controlling the entire value chain of geothermal development and during the past months we have made significant efforts to bring this additional phase of 48 MW in our McGinness Hills complex to commercial operation. The third phase of McGinness Hills, together with the projects we added during 2018, will result in a record 115 MW of incremental generation, increasing our portfolio to 910 MW. This growth will provide a meaningful contribution to our results in 2019 and beyond.”
“We are very pleased that Ormat Technologies has begun commercial operation of the third of 10 geothermal facilities that will bring renewable power to Los Angeles, helping to create a clean energy future for our city and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Reiko Kerr, Senior Assistant General Manager – Power System Engineering, Planning, and Technical Services. “Since geothermal energy is a renewable resource that is available all the time—unlike variable wind and solar energy—it offers flexibility and the ability to dispatch for use whenever it’s needed. That helps LADWP to make the transition away from coal power while maintaining a reliable power supply for Los Angeles. Once completed these geothermal projects will contribute about 5.5 percent toward our renewable energy supply.”
Source: Ormat Press Release
