Korea nabs $450 million solar power project in Texas

A "team" of six Korean private and public entities has won a 600 billion won ($450 million) contract to build a solar power plant in the U.S. state of Texas.

Park Hee-jun, right, CEO of EIP Asset Management, takes a photo with Darrick Eugene, left, CEO of High Road Energy Marketing, and Vice President Chris Kirksey, after signing a deal to build a solar power plant in Texas, on Thursday. [SK ECOPLANT]

A "team" of six Korean private and public entities has won a 600 billion won ($450 million) contract to build a solar power plant in the U.S. state of Texas.

The group, which calls itself "Team Korea," recently signed a deal with Austin, Texas-based High Road Energy Marketing for the right to build a 459-megawatt solar power plant in Concho County, central Texas, the companies said Sunday.

The six companies making up Team Korea are the Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND), SK ecoplant, Hyundai Engineering and Construction (E&C), Topsun, EIP Asset Management and Global Plant, Infrastructure and Smart City, also known as the PIS fund.

EIP Asset Management won the exclusive right for the project in June, with the other five parties joining the project via individual investments, the amounts of which were not disclosed. Details about the stakes each company holds have also not been declared.

The 459-megawatt solar power plant, to be situated on an 11.74-million-square-meter (2,901-acre) site in Texas, will produce around 852 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, enough for 240,000 households, or 1 million people.

Ground will be broken at the beginning of 2024, and the plant will run for 35 years. The electricity output will be sold to global companies, including technology firms.

"By participating in the U.S. project from the beginning, KIND will secure capabilities and a track record and also make constant efforts to secure additional ESG business development and investment," KIND CEO Lee Kang-hoon said.

KIND and the PIS fund have secured the necessary investment and will handle project development, while SK ecoplant will take part in engineering, procurement and construction. Hyundai E&C and Topsun will supply solar modules.

The project comes as the U.S. government increases its focus on the climate crisis, aiming to make renewable energy account for 42 percent of total energy usage by 2050. The government's target is for solar power to account for 47 percent of renewable energy.

It set a budget of $369 billion in incentives for energy and climate-related programs, which includes tax breaks of up to 40 percent for renewable energy investments.

"SK ecoplant is solidifying our position as a global energy company by participating in the latest large-size Texas solar project," SK ecoplant CEO Park Kyoung-iI said. "We will endeavor to offer various energy solutions in renewable energy development to contribute to achieving the RE100."

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]