OCI Holdings’ US subsidiary OCI Energy has broken ground on a 260-megawatt solar farm in Texas, expanding its US power business as artificial intelligence data centers fuel electricity demand.
Construction of the SunRoper project began Tuesday in Wharton County. OCI Holdings Chair Lee Woo-hyun attended the groundbreaking ceremony alongside OCI Energy President Sabah Bayatli and Arava Power CEO Ilan Zidkony.
OCI Energy and the Israeli energy developer each hold a 50 percent stake in the venture. The project is backed by a long-term power purchase agreement signed in February with a US Fortune 100 company.
Spanning 1,714 acres, SunRoper is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2027. OCI Holdings said it will generate enough electricity to power about 60,000 households, based on average household consumption in Korea.
The partners are also developing La Salle, a 500 MW solar and energy storage project. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with commercial operations targeted for 2028.
OCI Energy has 6.3 gigawatts of capacity under development across 30 US projects, including 3.1 GW of solar power and 3.2 GW of energy storage.
By 2030, the company aims to expand its development pipeline to 15 GW and its operating portfolio to more than 2 GW as it moves deeper into power generation and energy infrastructure.
“Solar demand in the US 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.”
yejinlim@heraldcorp.com
