OCI Holdings announced on Thursday that its U.S. subsidiary, OCI Energy, held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Sun Roper solar power plant on Tuesday. The project is a joint venture with Israeli energy firm Arava Power.
Key attendees at the ceremony included OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun, OCI Energy President Saba Bayatli, and Arava Power Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ilan Zidkony.
The Sun Roper project will develop a 260 MW solar power plant on a 1,714-acre (6.93 million square meters) site in Wharton County, Texas. The facility aims to begin commercial operations by 2027, generating enough electricity to power about 60,000 Korean households (based on 4 people per household).
OCI Energy and Arava Power each hold a 50% stake in the project. They secured project financing based on a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with a leading Fortune 500 company in February.
Leveraging Experience for Accelerated Growth
Since 2012, OCI Energy has been a key player in utility-scale solar development in Texas. Over the past 15 years, the company has developed and sold approximately 2 GW (2000 MW) of solar projects.
Last year, OCI Energy completed the development and sale of solar projects totaling 480 MW, including Sun Roper (260 MW), Pepper (120 MW), and Lucky 7 (100 MW).
This year, OCI Energy also finalized the sale of a 50% stake in the La Salle project, a 500 MW facility being developed in partnership with Arava Power. The La Salle project is set to break ground by year-end, targeting commercial operations for 2028.
Reports suggest that the La Salle project is in talks to sign a PPA with one of the Magnificent Seven U.S. tech giants.
In the Energy Storage System (ESS) sector, OCI Energy is advancing its business model. The company is currently constructing the Alamo City ESS project (120 MW/480 MWh) in collaboration with CPS Energy and Vertech, an ESS system integration subsidiary of LG Energy Solution. OCI Energy will directly operate this project, aiming for commercial operations by 2027.
Evolving from Development and Sales to Asset Ownership
OCI Energy currently boasts a solar project pipeline of 6.3 GW in Texas. This impressive portfolio combines 3.1 GW of solar and 3.2 GW of ESS across 30 projects.
Chairman Lee noted that the surge in electricity demand from AI data centers is fueling solar growth in the U.S. energy market. The Sun Roper groundbreaking showcases OCI Energy’s strategic shift from a development-sales model to one emphasizing direct operations, opening up new revenue streams.
For Q2 2026, OCI Holdings reported consolidated revenues of 1.231 trillion KRW (about 905.9 million USD), an operating profit of 108 billion KRW (about 79 million USD), and a net profit of 60.6 billion KRW (about 44.6 million USD). Compared to the same period last year, revenues increased by 31.8%, marking the third consecutive quarter of operating profits since Q4 2025.