Ormat Withdraws form Hawai’i Electric Negotiations

Hawai’i Electric Light’s Hilo office on Kilauea Avenue. File photo by Dave Smith.

Ormat has withdrawn from contract negotiations to provide 25 MW of additional geothermal energy on the Big Island.

Hawai’i Electric Light announced the withdrawal on Wednesday afternoon.

Negotiations were part of a Request for Proposal process, a competitive bidding framework that was initiated to add lower cost, firm, and renewable geothermal energy to the Big Island’s energy portfolio.

On Feb. 24 of last year, Hawai’i Electric Light Company selected Ormat following a review of bids as part of the bidding process. The decision was made on Ormats “ability to meet price levels and performance standards,” according to Hawai’i Electric officials.

“Our primary goal for the RFP was to obtain geothermal energy that could significantly lower the overall cost to our customers while maintaining overall system reliability,” said Jay Ignacio, Hawai‘i Electric Light Company president. “We’re disappointed that Ormat decided not to proceed to develop the project.”

Efforts to continue to increase cost-effective renewable energy, including geothermal, in its analysis of potential future resource options, the company said in a release.

On the Big Island more than 47 percent of electricity is generated from renewable resources, including hydro, wind, distributed solar and geothermal.