Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
OCI Holdings breaks ground on Texas solar project amid AI power boom
OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun, center, and OCI Energy President Sabah Bayatli, third from right, pose with other participants at the groundbreaking ceremony for the SunRoper solar project in Wharton County, Texas, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of OCI Holdings
By Nam Hyun-woo
OCI Holdings' U.S. subsidiary OCI Energy broke ground Tuesday (local time) on the 260-megawatt SunRoper solar project in Wharton County, Texas, as rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers drives growth in renewable power, the Korean company said Thursday.
The project, a 50-50 joint venture with Israeli renewable energy developer Arava Power, spans 1,714 acres and is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2027. Once completed, it will generate enough electricity to power about 60,000 households.
The companies secured project financing based on a long-term power purchase agreement signed in February with a Fortune 100 company. The buyer was not disclosed.
OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun attended the groundbreaking ceremony along with OCI Energy President Sabah Bayatli and Arava Power CEO Ilan Zidkony.
OCI Energy has developed utility-scale solar projects in Texas since 2012, developing and selling about 2 gigawatts of capacity in the U.S. market.
Its business has accelerated over the past two years as AI data center construction has increased demand for renewable power in Texas. Last year, the company completed development of 480 megawatts across three major solar projects — SunRoper, Pepper and Lucky 7. The latter two were sold to Turkish energy developer Sabanci Renewables.
Earlier this year, OCI Energy sold a 50 percent stake in the 500-megawatt La Salle solar project, which is also being developed with Arava Power. The project is expected to break ground later this year and begin commercial operations in 2028.
La Salle is in talks to secure a power purchase agreement with one of the so-called Magnificent Seven U.S. technology companies, according to people familiar with the matter.
OCI Energy is also expanding into energy storage. It is developing the Alamo City energy storage project, with a capacity of 120 megawatts and 480 megawatt-hours, with CPS Energy and LG Energy Solution Vertech. Unlike its traditional develop-and-sell model, OCI Energy plans to retain and operate the facility, marking a shift toward an owner-operator strategy.
OCI Energy currently has a development pipeline of 6.3 gigawatts across 30 U.S. projects, comprising 3.1 gigawatts of solar and 3.2 gigawatts of energy storage.
The company aims to have 15 gigawatts of projects under development and more than 2 gigawatts of operating assets by 2030.
"Solar demand in the U.S. is accelerating as AI data centers drive up power consumption," Lee said. "Project SunRoper reflects our shift from a develop-and-sell model toward direct operation, which opens up new, recurring revenue streams."
The company expects the shift to generate more stable, contract-based cash flow and improve profitability as it expands its portfolio of power purchase agreement-backed operating assets.