Ormat Technologies last week said it would not proceed with Part II of a loan guarantee application for three geothermal projects in California and Nevada, shunning the opportunity for up to $330 million in federal funds. The Reno-based company said it had instead decided to “explore” commercial financing, citing uncertainties in the project permitting process and transaction costs associated with the program.
The three projects in the running for federal loan guarantees were the Wister, CD-4, and Dead Horse Wells geothermal projects—all ofwhich would add 80 MW to 90 MW to the grid. Another loan guarantee application for three other Nevada projects—Jersey Valley, McGinness Hills, and Tuscarora projects—remains on track, Ormat said.
Ormat said the decision, made in coordination with John Hancock Life Insurance, considered that under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, projects backed by the program required necessary permits to have been awarded by September 2011. “The decision by Ormat and John Hancock to remove the projects from the application was due to uncertainties in the permitting process and the transaction costs associated with the program,” the company said.
Sources: Ormat, POWERnews
