SCPPA to buy power by Ormat

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Last week, Ormat Technologies entered a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with Southern California Public Power Authority to deliver 35 megawatts of electricity from Ormat’s Ormesa geothermal complex in the Imperial Valley starting next November.

The new PPA will supersede Ormesa’s current 30year standard offer contract with Southern California Edison that has a variable energy rate tied primarily to volatile natural gas prices and that will expire on Nov. 29, 2017. Under the terms of the PPA, energy from the Ormesa complex will be sold to SCPPA at a rate of $77.25 per megawatt-hour with no annual escalation. SCPPA will resell about 86 percent of this power complex’s output to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the remaining 14 percent to the Imperial Irrigation District.

“Geothermal power is a superior resource, offering customers firm and flexible power with no integration costs. We are delighted to be chosen again by SCPPA, LADWP and IID, who continue to recognize the value of cost-effective and reliable geothermal energy to meet their renewable energy goals,” said Isaac Angel, chief executive officer of Ormat Technologies in a statement. “As for Ormat’s portfolio, this new PPA will eliminate our exposure to natural gas from the Ormesa complex and reduce our entire exposure to natural gas to approximately 50 megawatts, which are less than 10 percent of our portfolio.”

He added that as a result of the new agreement Ormat expects to see an improvement in Ormesa’s operating profit and EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) of approximately $8.5 million in 2018 compared to Ormesa’s expected operating profit and EBITDA in 2016.

“As California moves aggressively towards a clean energy future, renewable resources from the Imperial Valley should continue to play a key role in meeting these goals,” said Norma Sierra Galindo, president of IID Board of Directors in a statement. “This facility is just one example of the prominent geothermal resources unique to this region that can be further developed and their energy exported to neighboring communities.”

Carbon storage grants

On Nov. 30, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy announced 16 carbon storage projects that will receive a total of $44 million for cost-shared research and development. The funding is part of DOE’s Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) initiative, which seeks to help mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

Despite the spur of green and clean energy development across the country, fossil fuels will still be needed for years to come, which makes the development of carbon-capturing technologies essential.

Projects selected as part of this initiative will address key research gaps in the path toward the deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies, including the development of commercial-scale, 50-plus million metric tons of carbon dioxide, and geologic storage sites for carbon dioxide from industrial sources. These sources, such as cement and iron and steel production, currently account for an estimated 21 percent of U.S. carbon emissions.

“CCS (carbon capture and storage) will play a very important role as the world moves toward a lower-carbon economy,” said Lynn Orr, DOE’s undersecretary for science and energy. “The U.S. must continue a leadership role in the development and deployment of carbon dioxide storage technologies as a key element of a diversified energy economy. The funding announced today through the CarbonSAFE initiative will help to address technical barriers to commercial-scale carbon storage as worldwide demand for these types of clean energy solutions continues to rise.”

EPA candidate

So far many of the cabinet nominees of President-elect Donald Trump have been scrutinized and even more intriguing selection could be coming.

McClatchyDC reported last week that Trump is considering Kathleen Hartnett White to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to McClatchyDC, White wants to end subsidies for renewable energy and has said it’s not clear how much human activity contributes to climate change.

White met with Trump last week, and described her meeting as a conversation where they went back-and-forth after she stated her positions and ideas on how the EPA should be run.

During his campaign Trump made the EPA one of his primary targets and emphasized his interest on cutting regulation on fossil fuels and coal.