McGinness Hills Phase 2 Geothermal Power Plant Begins Commercial Operation

Brings Complex Generating Capacity to Approximately 72 MW

Reno, NV (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) announced today that the second phase of its McGinness Hills geothermal power plant located in Lander County, Nevada has begun commercial operation. Since February 1, 2015, the complex sells electricity under the amended Power Purchase Agreement with NV Energy at a new energy rate of $85.58/MWh with a 1 percent annual escalator through December 2032.

The second phase broke ground on March 2014 following resource confirmation and excellent performance of the first phase of McGinness Hills, which had been operational since June 2012. During the construction, the project has generated hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in the United States. The support and cooperation of the utility, state, county and federal agencies is credited for the project coming on line and ahead of schedule.

The project received favorable project financing terms from the Department of Energy's loan guarantee program under section 1705 and a $140 million loan was drawn under the OFC 2 Senior Secured Notes in August 2014.

"Ormat continues to expand its generating capacity and enable the increased use of green, renewable energy," commented Isaac Angel, Ormat's CEO. "In less than three years we doubled the generating capacity of the McGinness Hills complex adding firm capacity to NV Energy's customer-benefitting renewable energy resources. Implementing our phased development approach enables us to bring on line the second phase rapidly as well as to take advantage of economies of scale in the McGinness Hills complex, and we expect it will further improve our financial performances."

About Ormat Technologies, Inc.
With over four decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company solely engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG). The company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter - a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. With over 77 U.S. patents, Ormat's power solutions have been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has 480 employees in the United States and about 640 overseas. Ormat's flexible, modular solutions for geothermal power and REG are ideal for the vast range of resource characteristics. The company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed to utilities and developers worldwide, totaling over 1,900 MW of gross capacity. Ormat's current generating portfolio of 626 MW (net) is spread globally in the U.S., Guatemala and Kenya.

Ormat's Safe Harbor Statement
Information provided in this press release contains statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are "forward looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Ormat's plans, objectives and expectations for the share exchange, the related restructuring of the Ormat corporate group and the anticipated consequences of the transaction and are based upon its management's current expectations. These forward looking statements include, among others, the benefits that Ormat Technologies believes the transaction will create, including those related to expected cost savings, enhanced liquidity, synergies, corporate visibility and identity. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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