OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun, front row third from left, poses with CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza, front row fourth from left, after signing a long-term storage capacity agreement during a ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, Dec. 6 (local time). Courtesy of OCI Holdings
By Nam Hyun-woo
OCI Energy, a U.S.-based solar power unit of OCI Group, has signed a long-term storage capacity agreement with CPS Energy of the United States for an energy storage system (ESS) project in Texas, which will supply solar power to the San Antonio region from 2027.
According to the group’s holding firm OCI Holdings, Tuesday, OCI Energy and CPS Energy recently held a signing ceremony for the agreement on the 120-megawatt battery energy storage project called Alamo City ESS. CPS Energy is the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the U.S.
The project will occupy a 140,000-square-meter site in southeastern Bexar County, Texas, to build a solar power facility with four-hour duration, meaning it can discharge energy at its 120-megawatt full capacity for four hours. This is equivalent to the daily energy consumption of 41,000 households.
The project is expected to go online in late 2026, serving the energy needs of the San Antonio community for a 20-year period from 2027. Reportedly, over 40 percent of investments into the project are eligible for the U.S. Investment Tax Credit, improving the project’s profitability.
As part of the agreement, OCI Energy will contribute $250,000 to the University of Texas at San Antonio. OCI Energy will work with the university to establish educational initiatives tied to the $250,000 contribution.
“As a San Antonio-based company, we are thrilled to build on our successful, and more than a decade-long collaboration with CPS Energy,” OCI Energy President Sabah Bayatli said.
“Now, we’re embarking on an exciting new chapter — introducing large-scale battery energy storage to San Antonio to help secure reliable and sustainable power for our community today and for generations to come.”
Since its establishment in 2011, OCI Energy has been making aggressive investments as part of its bid to secure its position as a key player in the North American utility-scale solar and ESS markets, resulting in a project pipeline of more than 10 solar and ESS projects with a total capacity of 5.2 gigawatts.
