OCI President Lee Woo-hyun

OCI held a ceremony to mark the installation of panels at its 13.6 kw solar power farm, Los Santos I, on May 15 with a slew of local and Korean dignitaries. Those in attendance included Gov. Cesar Horacio Duarte Jaurez of the State of Chihuahua; central government officials; President Yoon Sok-hwan of OCI Solar Power; and others. President Yoon said in his congratulatory speech that the significance of the Los Santos I project is that it won the recognition of OCI Solar Power’s capacity to build a solar power plant anywhere in the world with its advanced technology. 

San Antonio-based OCI Solar Power has its first project in Mexico through a solar farm partially financed by North American Development Bank, fulfilling a promise to create new business in 2016. As part of a 20-year power-purchase agreement, OCI Solar is taking over construction, ownership and operation of the Los Santos I solar farm in Moctezuma, Chihuahua. 

Located roughly halfway between the sprawling border city of Ciudad Juarez and the state capital of Chihuahua, the 13.6-megawatt solar farm was originally developed by San Antonio-based clean energy company Buenavista Renewables, which secured $40 million in financing from the San Antonio-based NADBank and the Washington, D.C.-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation, or OPIC.

Buenvista Renewables approached OCI Solar to invest in the project in August 2015. OCI Solar Power Director of Commercial Development Randy Jenks said the company quickly jumped at the opportunity to enter Mexico's emerging solar energy market.

"This was an opportunity that had more than just the value of the project," Jenks told the Business Journal.

In addition to being OCI Solar's first project in Mexico, Los Santos I is the largest solar farm in Mexico, but it also represents the first private power-purchase agreement south of the border. All the electricity generated by the solar farm will be bought by German manufacturer Leoni Cable and almost two dozen schools owned by the La Salle education network.

OCI Solar Power CEO Yoon Sok-hwan joined Chihuahua Gov. Cesar Horacio Duarte Jaquez and Buenavista Renewables CEO Jose Juan Ruiz Jimenez at a morning ceremony to place the first solar panels on trackers already installed at the Los Santos I solar farm. “Mexico is a country with tremendous potential for solar development," Yoon said in a statement. "We are pleased to be entering into this market as solar emerges as a highly competitive energy source. We look forward to continued work with Buenavista Renewables and additional projects in Mexico.”

Expected to be completely operational by July, Los Santos I is the first phase in a series of projects designed to generate price-stable, long-term renewable energy in Chihuahua, which is considered to be one of the most solar-rich states in northern Mexico. The Los Santos I farm's capacity will be increased to 20 megawatts in an upcoming project and then followed by the Los Santos II, III and IV solar farms, which will each generate 20 megawatts of electricity. OCI Sola Power plans to move eventually to a number of other nations including India, and Africa to build its solar power farms.

OCI Solar Power is a leader in the solar power industry, providing innovation and development for solar power plants in communities across North America. Based in San Antonio, Texas, OCI Solar Power works with local officials, community organizations and local partners to engineer, develop, construct and operate solar projects. 

BVR served as lead developer on this project with investment and project consultation provided by OCI Solar Power, an international solar developer based in San Antonio, Texas. When the Los Santos I project is complete, OCI will acquire ownership of the project and operate the project for the remainder of the PPA.

A view of a solar power farm being built by OCI Solar Power in Chihuahua State in Mexico. (Photos:OCI)