Israel-headquartered independent power producer (IPP) Arava Power has acquired 50% of US IPP OCI Energy’s La Salle Solar project, a 670MW project in Texas that OCI expects to start commercial operations in 2028.
The acquisition is part of a Member Ship Interest Purchase Agreement (MIPA), which will see Arava take on half of the project’s ownership, and both companies will be involved in financing, constructing, owning and operating the project. The companies did not provide further details of the transaction, but noted that this is the largest single-site solar project in the companies’ shared portfolio, which now consists of three projects.
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“La Salle Solar is a milestone not only because of its size, but because it reflects the consistency and expertise of our team,” said OCI president Sabah Bayatli. “Executing a project of this scale is the result of deep market knowledge, strong partnerships and a focused approach to development.”
OCI and Arava raised US$394 million for their 374MW SunRoper project, also in Texas, in February of this year. The SunRoper project is in development around 60km south-west of the city of Houston, while La Salle County is further west, and closer to the border with Mexico.
Texas is one of the largest solar industries in the US, with figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) showing that it has the second-most operational capacity among the 50 US states, and the most utility-scale capacity. The trade body also expects 32.3GW of new solar PV capacity additions over the next five years in Texas, the most in the country.
This week, SEIA announced that it will appoint former Republican governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty as its new CEO, starting next month, following the resignation of former CEO Abigail Ross Hopper in January.
