Hyundai Engineering has broken ground on its first overseas renewable energy investment and development project, the Hillsboro Solar Power Plant, in Texas, U.S.
The company announced on Thursday that it held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site in Hill County, Texas, on Wednesday.
Key figures attending the event included Lee Seung-won, head of Hyundai Engineering’s Energy Division, Lee Kyung-eun, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Houston, Peter Branham, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Hyundai Motor’s Alabama plant, and Christopher Whitehead, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Mobis’s Alabama plant.
This project is Hyundai Engineering’s first overseas renewable energy investment and development venture, where the company has overseen the entire process from acquiring the business rights in 2024 to obtaining permits, securing the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and arranging project financing (PF).
In late April, Hyundai Engineering secured funding for the project by finalizing a financial agreement worth approximately 310 million USD with four financial institutions: Korea Development Bank, Crédit Agricole CIB, OCBC Bank, and Siemens Financial Services.
The Hillsboro Solar Power Plant will have a generation capacity of 200 megawatts (MW). It aims to begin commercial operations by December 2027.
Once completed, the plant is expected to generate approximately 476 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity annually. This output is sufficient to power about 46,000 American households.
Hyundai Engineering is strategically expanding its energy business portfolio in response to the global shift in energy paradigms.
A notable achievement was the successful completion of the Saemangeum Land Solar 1st Zone Power Project in 2021, which was the first renewable energy project in Saemangeum, South Korea. Building on this success, the company was selected as a strategic partner for a 1 GW solar power plant project in Serbia in 2024, marking its entry into the European market.
A spokesperson for Hyundai Engineering stated that this groundbreaking showcases the evolution into a comprehensive energy specialist developer, managing the entire process from project identification to financing and operations, beyond the traditional Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) role. It’s committed to strengthening the global presence in North America, Europe, and other markets by focusing the expertise on next-generation energy projects, including renewables, Small Modular Reactors (SMR), and hydrogen technologies.
