OCI Holdings is intensifying its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure across the U.S.
On Thursday, OCI Holdings announced that its U.S. subsidiary, OCI Energy, successfully secured financing for the 260-megawatt Sun Roper project on Monday. The project is being jointly developed with Israeli energy firm Arava Power on a 50-50 basis.
ING Capital, a global financial institution, served as the sole underwriter, providing a financial package of approximately 394 million USD. The project’s stable execution will be supported by numerous global partners, including specialized contractors, technical consultants, and law firms.
OCI Energy has successfully navigated various policy uncertainties, such as the U.S. government’s country-specific tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). With this financing round completed, the company is now poised to accelerate the remaining steps towards power plant construction and commercial operation.
The Sun Roper joint venture is constructing a solar power facility in Wharton County, Houston. Spanning about 6.93 million square meters (approximately 693 acres) with a capacity of 260 megawatts, the project area is 2.5 times the size of Yeouido and can generate enough electricity to power around 60,000 households for a day.
OCI Energy and Arava Power plan to begin commercial operations of the power plant in the third quarter of next year. In addition to securing financing, they have established a stable revenue structure through a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply clean energy to key facilities in Texas for 20 years.
The project meets the construction requirements to qualify for a 30% investment tax credit (ITC) and an additional 10% energy community bonus under the OBBB Act. If construction begins by July 4, the project could receive a maximum investment return of 40%.
Lee Woo-hyun, Chairman of OCI Holdings, stated that they’re moving away from the traditional model of selling projects just before completion. Instead, it aims to directly operate these facilities through joint venture investments, generating long-term revenue from power sales. Its plan is to expand the competitive pipeline not only in Texas but across the entire U.S.
