Energy Storage plus Grid Analytics for Geothermal Energy

Alevo Group today announced it has signed an agreement with Ormat Technologies, Inc. to jointly build and operate the Rabbit Hill Energy Storage Project, a 10MW energy storage project in Georgetown, Texas. The project, one of several major commercial deployments Alevo has planned for 2016, will be located at the Rabbit Hill substation which is owned and operated by Georgetown Utility Systems and the city of Georgetown. Georgetown is at the forefront of renewable energy in Texas, and in 2015 became both the first municipally-owned utility in Texas and one of the first nationally to procure 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Energy storage will play an increasingly important role in Georgetown Utility Systems' energy supply mix.

Alevo and Ormat will conduct the 10MW project through the joint entity ESS Rabbit Hill Project. The project will provide Georgetown Utility Systems with fast response regulation services (FFRS) as an open market participant to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), an independent system operator that manages the flow of electric power to Texas customers. As the first commercial project built in ERCOT to provide FRRS, the project is an important milestone in the evolution of the Texas market, which has more wind turbines that any other state and a rapidly expanding base of installed solar energy projects.

“Georgetown has been evaluating energy storage benefits for several years,” says Jim Briggs, general manager for utilities for the City of Georgetown. “This project gives us the opportunity to evaluate the benefits and complexities of such a permanent deployment in the future. The use of energy storage in concert with the generation of energy by renewable sources seems to make basic economic sense.”

The project will consist of three Alevo GridBankâ„¢ energy storage systems and six Parker-Hannafin 890- GTB Power Conversion Systems (PCS). Under the terms of the agreements, Ormat will provide construction services and balance of plant equipment. Alevo will provide ongoing management and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services for the duration of the project.

“Entering the energy storage market is a key component of our long term growth plan, helping us to further diversify revenues and advancing our goals of transitioning from a geothermal company to a recognized leader in the renewable energy industry,” commented Isaac Angel, Chief Executive Officer, Ormat. “We anticipate that collaborating with Alevo, with its innovative technology and global presence will allow us to make significant progress towards our expansion in this field. We see the energy storage market as a meaningful growth driver for Ormat and for the renewable energy industry and we continue to work on similar and other initiatives to support value for our shareholders.”

“We are pleased to be partnering with the innovative and forward looking management of Ormat and look forward to building a long lasting relationship as we move towards a more efficient energy market,” said Christopher Christiansen, President, Alevo Inc. “In addition, the city of Georgetown and Georgetown Utility Systems have been a pleasure to work with, and we are excited to work with them as they move towards a 100% renewable energy future.”