Puna Geothermal Power Plant drilling reaches completion

HAWAII ISLAND—Ormat Technologies, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Puna Geothermal Venture, completed the drilling and the mechanical cleaning of the production wells at the Puna Geothermal Power Plant located on Hawaii Island. Following the well field work the power plant is now back at full production.

Commenting on the results of the well field work, Dita Bronicki, Chief Executive Officer of Ormat said in a statement: “We are satisfied with the results of the well field work that was completed within the budget and on time.”

Geothermal exploration in Hawaii began in the 1960s. A public-private partnership dug the first geothermal well in Puna in 1976. The project developed into a three-megawatt power plant that went online in July 1981. The plant’s output was sorely needed at the time, due to island-wide energy shortages, and it continued for eight years. However, the plant was never intended as a commercial operation. Production ceased in 1989 as the plant failed to meet rising community and regulatory standards.

In the early 1990s, Puna Geothermal Venture, a partnership between two mainland power companies, received a permit to produce renewable geothermal energy at a site in Puna in the East Rift Zone. The facility went online in 1993. Under a Power Purchase Agreement with Hawaii Electric Light Company, it delivers 25-30 megawatts of firm renewable energy on a continuous basis.

Hawaii Island is located above a volcanically active “hot spot” in the earth’s mantle and has the most potential of all the isles for electrical generation and the direct uses of heat.

Puna Geothermal’s six wells produce about 20 percent of the island’s electricity.

Ormat Technologies, Inc. acquired Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) on Hawaii Island in June 2004.