Ormat Technologies Inc. ORA recently acquired 1,678 acres of land in Utah during the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auction. The new land will help Ormat Technologies build two new geothermal power plants near its Cove Fort facility. The first plant’s (Cove Fort 2) exploration will start in 2025, with commercial operation estimated to begin in 2027. The second plant, Cove Fort North, will be developed later.

ORA’s Position in Geothermal Generation

As the impacts of climate change become more apparent, the transition to renewable energy sources like geothermal has been growing rapidly to help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal plants offer constant power to the grid, unaffected by weather or daylight, making them a reliable and flexible backup during significant electricity outages or disruptions.

This is likely to have prompted the Grand View Research firm to forecast a compound annual growth rate of 3.1% for the global geothermal energy market during the 2024-2030 time period.

Ormat Technologies, being a prominent forerunner in generating electricity from geothermal energy, stands to gain significantly from the aforementioned market growth prospect. The company has been consistently enhancing its footprint in this industry. In the second quarter of 2024, it started operating the six-megawatt (MW) Beowawe Repower geothermal plant. By the end of September 2024, the company’s total capacity reached 1.4 gigawatts, with most of it coming from geothermal power plants. Out of 187 MW of projects currently being developed by ORA, 125 MW focus on geothermal energy.

The newly acquired land in Utah is yet another strategy of Ormat Technologies to further expand its geothermal footprint.

Opportunities for Other Stocks

Other companies, which are increasing investments in geothermal generation and are thus expected to gain from the expanding global geothermal energy market, are discussed below.

Baker Hughes Company BKR: It has been working on geothermal energy for more than 40 years, with projects in more than 30 countries around the world. The company has developed a prototype metal-to-metal mud motor with a mud-lubricated bearing assembly and a titanium transmission for harvesting energy from an enhanced geothermal system in Iceland.

The company has a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 21.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BKR’s 2024 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 8.1%.

Halliburton Company HAL: It provides a wide range of products, technology and integrated services to help reduce costs and manage risks in geothermal projects. The company works closely with clients to develop the best solutions for various types of geothermal energy projects.

The company has a long-term earnings growth rate of 2.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HAL’s 2025 sales indicates year-over-year growth of 0.6%.

ORA Stock Price Movement

Shares of ORA have lost 11.3% in the past three months against the industry’s 5.8% growth.

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ORA’s Zacks Rank & A Stock to Consider

ORA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A better-ranked stock in the same industry is Excelerate Energy EE. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EE’s 2025 sales is pinned at $981.5 million, which indicates year-over-year growth of 25.8%. The consensus estimate for 2025 earnings per share is pinned at $1.47, which indicates year-over-year growth of 19.1%.

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