OCI Holdings Begins Construction of 260MW Solar Project in Texas, USA

Aiming for Commercial Operation in 2027, Responding to AI-Driven Power Demand
Expanding Beyond Development and Sales to Direct Operation

OCI Holdings' U.S. subsidiary, OCI Energy, has begun construction of a 260MW solar power plant in Texas, USA.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the SunLoft Project held on the 1st (local time) in Wharton County, Texas, USA, Ihwoohyun, Chairman of OCI Holdings (seventh from the left), Saba Bayatly, President of OCI Energy (third from the right), and other guests are breaking ground. OCI Holdings

On September 1 (local time), OCI Holdings announced that OCI Energy held the groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Sun Roper' solar power plant project, which it is jointly developing with Israeli energy company Arava Power.

The Sun Roper project will be established with a capacity of 260MW on approximately 6.93 million square meters of land in Wharton County, Texas, aiming for commercial operation in 2027. The facility will generate enough electricity to supply about 60,000 households in Korea.

OCI Energy and Arava Power each hold a 50% stake in the project, and secured business funding based on a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with a global company in February this year.

Since 2012, OCI Energy has been developing large-scale solar power projects, mainly in Texas. To date, it has developed and sold solar projects totaling approximately 2GW, and is accelerating business expansion as electricity demand in the U.S. increases due to the growth of AI data centers.

Last year, the company completed the development and sale of several solar projects: Sun Roper (260MW), Pepper (120MW), and Lucky 7 (100MW), totaling 480MW. This year, it also sold its 50% stake in the jointly developed La Salle project (500MW) with Arava Power. Construction of the La Salle project will begin at the end of this year, with commercial operation targeted for 2028.

The company is also expanding its energy storage system (ESS) business. OCI Energy, in partnership with CPS Energy and LG Energy Solution Vertech, is constructing the 'Alamo City ESS' project with a capacity of 120MW and 480MWh. The project aims for commercial operation in 2027 and will be operated directly by OCI Energy.

OCI Energy currently has a development portfolio of 3.1GW in solar power and 3.2GW in ESS, totaling 6.3GW, primarily in Texas. The company aims to secure 15GW in development assets and over 2GW in operating assets by 2030.

WooHyun Lee, Chairman of OCI Holdings, stated, "Due to increased power demand from AI data centers, the solar energy market in the U.S. continues to grow. With the groundbreaking of the Sun Roper project, we will expand our focus from development and sales to direct operation, thereby broadening new revenue-generating opportunities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.