<p>One-tenth of the way – that’s about how far along OCI Solar Power is in constructing a planned 400-megawatt photovoltaic power generating plant in San Antonio. Still, even with just the 41-MW first phase completed, the company has now constructed the largest PV plant in <a href="http://www.earthtechling.com/tag/texas/" shape="rect">Texas</a>.</p>.<p>“Alamo I is an interesting milestone because it’s now the largest solar farm in Texas, but it’s still a small part of what is to come,” OCI Solar Power President and CEO Tony Dorazio <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oci-solar-power-completes-texas-largest-solar-farm-236389811.html" shape="rect">said in a statement</a>. “Alamo I is only step one to Texas’ rise as a big player in solar.”</p>.<p class="wp-caption-text">The 41-megawatt Alamo I PV plant in Bexar County, Texas. (image via OCI Solar Power)</p>.<p>Texas is a behemoth when it comes to U.S. wind power – at the end of 2012, its 12,212 MW of installed capacity were more than twice that of second-place California (5,549 MW) – but it has been slow to embrace solar. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, <a href="http://www.seia.org/state-solar-policy/texas" shape="rect">in 2012 it ranked 12th in cumulative installed capacity</a> with 51 MW, even though “if you include all of its usable land, the solar potential of Texas is more than twice that of any other state.”</p>.<p>The thing is, too, that solar could be a huge benefit to Texas exactly when it needs it – during the long hot summer.The Brattle Group last year said that during the state’s epic hot summer of 2011, solar PV would have <a href="http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/06/can-solar-save-texas-bacon-when-summer-sizzles/" shape="rect">helped hold down wholesale energy costs</a>, which skyrocketed during periods of peak demand.</p>.<p>OCI is headquartered in South Korea, but much of the economic benefits of the company’s work in Texas should stay in Texas.</p>.<p>That’s because as part of its deal with the San Antonio municipal utility CPS Energy, OCI agreed to set up its U.S. headquarters in San Antonio, alongside Nexelon America, a subsidiary of the South Korea-based solar manufacturer Nexelon. The companies agreed to bring 800 jobs to San Antonio between them; already, <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/blog/2013/12/oci-solars-project-for-cps-bringing.html" shape="rect">according to the <em>San Antonio Business Journal</em></a>, their local payrolls add up to 170.</p>.<p>“San Antonio is fast becoming a leader in the New Energy Economy by combining economic development with environmentally sound practices,” San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro said in a statement. “This solar farm expands our clean energy portfolio while adding hundreds of 21st century manufacturing jobs to the local economy.”</p>.<p>* Pete Danko, EarthTechling</p>