Robin Zuza

Robin Zuza is the Director of Global Exploration at Ormat Technologies, Inc. Ormat is a leading renewable energy provider operating over 1GW of geothermal power across six countries and an extensive exploration portfolio globally. Robin has been with Ormat for six years starting as an exploration geologist focused on East African opportunities before transitioning into management. She currently manages a technical team with bases in both Reno and Jakarta.

Prior to making the switch to geothermal, Robin was a senior geologist for an oil and gas company focused on exploration opportunities in California. Robin received both her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Geology and Master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her Master’s researched focused on structural mapping and analysis of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Abstract

Global Geothermal Exploration and Growth – the Ormat Case Study

Robin C. Zuza, Simon J. Webbison  

Ormat Technologies is one of the leading geothermal companies in the world and is unique in the number of fields it operates and the variety of its operating portfolio. Ormat currently operates twenty-three geothermal fields, the largest of any operator, with a non-operating shareholding in two other geothermal fields.  These are across six different countries: USA, Kenya, Indonesia, Guadeloupe (France), Guatemala and Honduras.

Ormat is the only geothermal operator with fields hosted in amagmatic fault-controlled basins, high-enthalpy volcanic systems, and sedimentary basins with exploited resources ranging in encountered highest natural state temperatures of >315°C to 127°C. 

Ormat has successfully had consistent growth in installed geothermal capacity through time with greenfield exploration globally, targeted acquisitions and staged developments/expansions. Key to our organic growth has been a focused investment in both low-enthalpy and high-enthalpy opportunities through being open to development of both upflow and/or the outflow within a geothermal system. Advancements in technology have been a key enabler of this flexibility in the development approach, as has the development of a world-class resource team.  

This keynote paper will provide the Ormat Case Study of Exploration and Growth and will cover future plans, with a focus on key learnings that allow for successful growth.