OCI Holdings begins construction of Texas solar project as it shifts toward direct operations

OCI Holdings has started construction on the Sun Roper solar power plant in Texas, marking a shift in its U.S. business from developing and selling projects toward owning and operating energy assets.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in Wharton County on the local date cited by the company. OCI Energy, OCI Holdings’ U.S. subsidiary, is developing the project jointly with Israeli energy company Arava Power. OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun, OCI Energy President Sabah Bayatli and Arava Power CEO Ilan Zidkony attended the ceremony.

Sun Roper will occupy 1,714 acres, or about 6.93 million square meters, and have generating capacity of 260 megawatts. The partners aim to begin commercial operations next year. The plant’s output would be enough to supply the equivalent of about 60,000 four-person households in South Korea for one day. OCI Energy and Arava Power each own half of the project, which secured a long-term power purchase agreement with a large company last February.

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AI data center-driven growth in electricity demand is sustaining solar growth in the U.S. energy market.

OCI Energy has developed utility-scale solar projects, mainly in Texas, since 2012. It has developed and sold projects totaling about 2 gigawatts over roughly 15 years. Last year, it completed sales of three projects totaling 480 megawatts. The company also sold a 50% stake in the 500-megawatt La Salle project this year, with construction due to begin by year-end and commercial operations targeted for 2028.

The company is pursuing additional agreements with a major U.S. technology company and is reportedly developing solar cooperation with Tesla and SpaceX. It is also working on an energy-storage project with LG Energy Solution’s U.S. systems-integration subsidiary and CPS Energy. OCI Energy says the project will operate directly under its control and aims to begin commercial operations next year.

OCI Energy’s Texas-centered pipeline totals 6.3 gigawatts, including 3.1 gigawatts of solar and 3.2 gigawatts of energy storage across 30 projects. Lee said rising demand from AI data centers is supporting solar growth in the U.S. and that Sun Roper demonstrates the company’s effort to expand direct operations and create new revenue opportunities.

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The launch of construction on the Sun Roper project shows that OCI Energy is expanding its direct-operation base beyond its existing development-and-sale business model and broadening opportunities to create new revenue.