Hanwha Q Cells USA Corp. said Monday it will start construction of a new 170-megawatt solar plant in the United States after sealing a power purchase agreement with Texas-based Austin Energy.

The upcoming solar plant will be built on roughly 580,000 square meters of land in western Texas to generate enough electricity to supply around 1 million people, according to Hanwha.

Austin Energy said it will purchase 118 MW of solar energy for 25 years under the purchasing contract, as the firm drives up its renewable energy sources in line with its ongoing efforts to build a sustainable future for the city.

Hanwha Q Cells will directly take charge of all the related engineering, procurement and construction procedures in completing the plant, set to begin commercial production by end-2017.

“With our exclusive technology, we will build a solar plant able to supply green energy in the region,” said Hanwha Q Cells’ chief development officer Laurence Greene.

“We are very happy to be able to supply renewable energy to our customers through this power purchase agreement,” said Austin Energy general manager Larry Weis.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)