Ormat Nevada, Inc., a subsidiary of Ormat Technologies, Inc., (NYSE: ORA), broke ground today on the first geothermal electric generating plant to be built at Steamboat, Nevada since 1991.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040422/LATH066LOGO )

Known as the Galena Geothermal Project, when completed the plant will be added to the existing Steamboat geothermal plants and bring the total output from this geothermal complex to 44 megawatts of electricity through a process that extracts and re-injects the hot geothermal waters from the ground. One megawatt of electricity can supply energy up to approximately 1,000 typical homes in the area.

The electricity produced at the plant is already under contract to Sierra Pacific Power Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP). Sierra Pacific has purchased the output from geothermal plants at Steamboat since the mid-1980s. Ormat owns and operates four other geothermal plants at Steamboat, the oldest of which has been in operation since 1986.

"This is the first project to begin construction since the Nevada Legislature passed laws requiring utilities to supply a portion of their power from renewable energy resources," said Dan Schochet, Vice President of Ormat. In 2001, the Nevada Legislature passed Senate Bill 372, which requires the use of a certain percentage of renewable energy resources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass) to generate electricity for customers within the state.

"We're proud to be the first and to supply clean, continuous and reliable geothermal energy to Sierra Pacific for the citizens of Nevada under the pioneering Nevada legislation," Schochet said.

According to Roberto Denis, Senior Vice President of Generation and Energy Supply for Sierra Pacific, Sierra Pacific Power purchases approximately 95 megawatts of electricity from geothermal sources in northern Nevada. "Another 30 megawatts of power under contract with Ormat is due to be supplied within the next 18 months," he said. "Today marks another significant step in Nevada's goal of developing more renewable resources to help meet our state's growing power needs."

About Ormat Technologies

Ormat Nevada, Inc., is a subsidiary of Ormat Technologies, Inc. a vertically integrated company primarily engaged in the geothermal and recovered energy power business. The company designs, develops, builds, owns and operates geothermal power plants and also designs, develops and builds and plans to own and operate, recovered energy-based power plants. Additionally, the company designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and recovered energy power units and other power generating equipment and provides related services. As part of the Ormat group, which was founded in 1965, the company currently has operations in the United States, Israel, Guatemala, Kenya, Nicaragua and the Philippines.

Information provided in this press release may contain 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 the company's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon management's current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in the Company's Prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 12, 2004.

About Sierra Pacific Power Company

Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, Sierra Pacific Power Company is the principal utility for most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE: SRP), which also is the holding company for Nevada Power Company, the electric utility for southern Nevada. Sierra Pacific Power also distributes natural gas in the Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada. Other subsidiaries of Sierra Pacific Resources include the Tuscarora Gas Pipeline Company, which owns 50 percent interest in an interstate natural gas transmission partnership and several unregulated energy services companies.

Forward-Looking Statement: This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events relating to Sierra Pacific Power Company within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. For Sierra Pacific Power Company, these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors that were discussed in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, which will be materially updated in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 to be filed with the SEC later this week. Sierra Pacific Power Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040422/LATH066LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

SOURCE: Ormat Nevada, Inc.; Sierra Pacific Power Company

CONTACT: Dan Schochet, Vice President, Ormat, office +1-775-356-9029,
cell, +1-775-230-0517; or Faye I. Andersen, Manager, Northern Communications,
Sierra Pacific, office +1-775-834-4822, cell +1-775-848-4822

Web site: http://www.sierrapacific.com/