Geothermal energy producer Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA)said that wholly owned subsidiary Ormat Nevada Inc., bought out Constellation Energy's 50% stake in their partnership that owns geothermal power plants in California for $72.5 million.
Following the acquisition, which also closed today, Ormat will become the sole owner of the land, power plants, and associated equipment comprising the Mammoth complex, including the rights to over 10,000 acres of undeveloped federal lands.
The Mammoth complex is located near Mammoth Lakes, California and includes three plants, which were completed in 1985 and 1990 and have a generating capacity of approximately 29 MW.
Ormat CEO Dita Brtonicki said, "As the sole owner of the complex, we plan to move quickly to expand the facility with a goal to double generation capacity."
Ormat believes that a change in how it accounts for the project after the acquisition, it will record a pre-tax gain of about $40 million in the third quarter.
Ormat shares rose 0.99% yesterday to $28.81, giving a market cap of $1.31 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 3, 2010
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