OCI breaks ground on Alamo City energy storage project in Texas

SEOUL, May 20 (UPI) -- South Korean energy solutions company OCI Holdings said Wednesday its U.S. affiliate, OCI Energy, has broken ground on the Alamo City ESS project in Bexar County, Texas.

Short for energy storage system, ESS stores electricity for later use. Most modern ESS facilities use large, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

The Alamo City project is a large-scale power storage initiative integrating a 120-megawatt solar photovoltaic system with a 480-megawatt-hour ESS, enough to power tens of thousands of homes.

OCI Energy said it signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with U.S.-based utility CPS Energy and LG Energy Solution, South Korea's battery maker, in May last year.

Other industry partners participating include ING Capital, which is heading the financial arrangements, and Elgin Power Solutions, which is providing engineering, procurement and construction services.

The facility is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.

"Energy storage is a critical component of how we prepare for the future," CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza said in a statement.

"Projects like Alamo City BESS give us the flexibility to meet growing demand, integrate more diverse energy resources and ensure our community has reliable power when it matters most."

OCI Holdings said it would shift its business model to enhance long-term profitability instead of relying solely on the traditional practice of selling projects at the pre-completion stage.

"We are strategically expanding our utility-scale ESS portfolio to address the intermittency challenges inherent in solar energy," OCI Holdings said in a statement.

"By increasing our direct operational footprint, we aim to establish a more resilient, long-term revenue model in the North American energy market."

The share price of OCI Holdings declined 5.77% on the Seoul bourse Wednesday, while the benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.86%.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 6:19 AM.