Hyundai Engineering has broken ground on a 200-megawatt solar power plant in Texas, accelerating its push beyond engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) to become a full-fledged energy developer.
Hyundai Engineering said on the 28th that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Hillsboro Solar Power Plant in Hill County, Texas, and has begun full-scale construction. The project marks the company's first overseas renewable energy investment and development venture in which it directly oversaw the entire process — from acquiring development rights in 2024 to securing permits, a power purchase agreement (PPA) and project financing (PF).
The financing is sizable. Last month, Hyundai Engineering signed a financing agreement worth roughly $310 million (about 460 billion won) with four domestic and international financial institutions, including the Korea Development Bank, securing the foundation for the project. The plant is targeting completion and commercial operation in December 2027, generating approximately 476 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity annually.
Under the PPA, the electricity will be supplied to major Hyundai Motor Group facilities in North America, including Hyundai Motor's Alabama plant, Kia's Georgia plant and Mobis Alabama. The project is a strategic initiative supporting the group's RE100 commitment.
With this groundbreaking as a turning point, Hyundai Engineering is expanding across the entire energy value chain. Domestically, it completed the Saemangeum solar power project in 2021 and has built solar facilities at group affiliates' sites. Overseas, it was selected in 2024 as a strategic partner for a 1-gigawatt solar project in Serbia, establishing a foothold in Europe. In the nuclear and hydrogen sectors, it is participating in the design of a research reactor at the University of Missouri and building a water-electrolysis-based hydrogen production facility in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province.
"This groundbreaking is a milestone showing that we have leapt forward as an energy developer covering the entire process — from project sourcing to financing and operation," a Hyundai Engineering official said. "We will concentrate our capabilities in next-generation energy businesses such as renewables, small modular reactors (SMRs) and hydrogen in global markets including North America and Europe."
