Omrat's Recovered Energy Generation (OREG IV) 3.5 MW power plant in Peetz, Colorado. (Credit: Ormat Technologies)Ormat offers 5 MW recovered energy generation solution to meet eBay Inc.’s green energy needs to supply cleaner electricity to new Salt Lake City-based data center.
Ormat Technologies, Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary entered a Joint Development Agreement with eBay Inc. for the development of a five-megawatt recovered energy generation (REG) power plant to be constructed in Utah. The Joint Development Agreement allows Ormat and eBay Inc. to advance negotiations on a 20-year term contract and begin preliminary development work to supply cleaner electricity to eBay Inc.’s new Salt Lake City-based data center.
“We commend eBay Inc.’s commitment to sustainable commerce and look forward to helping them achieve their clean energy goals,” said Yoram Bronicki, president and chief operating officer for Ormat. “We’re hopeful that our work with eBay Inc. will continue to promote REG as a predictable, environmentally friendly energy source that provides a hedge against the variability of fossil fuel costs.
The development was made possible by state legislation eBay Inc. helped develop that enables non-utility energy consumers to buy and transmit power directly from energy developers. Following passage of SB12 in 2012, eBay Inc. initiated a structured procurement process, through which Ormat was selected as the winning bid. eBay Inc. aims to purchase electricity generated from a REG facility constructed and operated by Ormat and deliver that energy to serve a portion of its Utah data center load requirements.
“SB12 was a critical component to identifying Ormat as a solution to our greener energy needs,” said Dean Nelson, vice president, global foundation services at eBay Inc. “We look forward to continuing in our efforts to implement REG power and to reach, and possibly surpass, our goal to source at least eight percent of our energy from cleaner sources by 2015.”
Ormat’s REG power plants capture waste heat that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere and convert that heat into energy using an Ormat Energy Converter, similar to those used in geothermal electricity generation. With over 160 MW of installed REG capacity in North America, Ormat is the leading manufacturer and developer of waste heat recovery generation. And, with over 665 MW in North America and 1600 MW of installed gross capacity worldwide, Ormat is a front-runner in the design and supply of geothermal and REG technology in the global market.
