The LUCY Project is a Korean-led, $524 million venture to build a 350MW solar power plant in Concho County, 150 miles northwest of Austin. Located on the Edwards Plateau on a site as big as 1,653 soccer fields, it could power over 250,000 households for 35 years after completion—but its power has already been contracted by Starbucks, Workday, and other corporations. So why did its “groundbreaking” happen in Dallas Tuesday? 

For one thing, the ceremony was relocated to North Texas due to the same severe ice and cold that’s brought Dallas to a standstill in recent days. But an even bigger reason? The company handling the construction on the project is Dallas-based Primoris Renewable Energy, a division of Primoris Services Corp. (Dallas Innovates last wrote about Primoris in October, when longtime Jacobs executive Koti Vadlamudi was named as the company’s new president and CEO.)

Primoris is serving as the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor. Operations will be managed by Korea Midland Power and will be based out of San Angelo.

Project Lucy groundbreaking: From Left to Right, Komipo America President, Byung euk Koh; Primoris Renewable Energy SVP, Brad Hise; The Head of the Consulate at the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Dallas, KwangHeon Doh, Komipo America President, Youngjo Lee; Hyundai Engineering and Construction COO, Kyeongsoo Kim, EIP Asset Management CEO, Hee-Jun Park, High Road Energy Marketing CEO, Darrick Eugene, EIP Asset Management Managing Director, Nathan Choi, Principal Landowner, Charles Smith. [Photo: Business Wire]

‘Team Korea,’ headed by Hyundai E&C, is leading the project

The LUCY Project is being led by “Team Korea,” headed up by Hyundai Engineering & Construction together with private and public enterprises and policy funds including Korea Midland Power, Korean Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), EIP Asset Management, and the PIS Fund.

The project is a big deal for Hyundai E&C, because it marks the company’s entry into the U.S. energy market as a construction investor. 

The project also marks the first time Hyundai E&C has moved beyond its traditional focus on overseas government contracts to solidify its position in the global project financing market, the company added. 

From the LUCY Project’s early development stages, Hyundai E&C handled equity investment, technical reviews, and the supply of solar modules.

Hyundai E&C said its teams have distinct missions on the project. Its Overseas Investment Team aimed for equity investment and overall profitability enhancement, while the company’s New & Renewable Energy Business Team focused on maximizing profit from the project’s module supply and construction aspects, the company added.

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