Arava Power’s first US solar photovoltaic facility beginning commerical operation in Uvalde County, Texas. It will power 43,000 homes in the San Antonio area of Texas.
Israel based Arava Power says that SUNRAY, a solar photovoltaic project with an installed capacity of 270 megawatts, has officially started its commercial operation in Uvalde County, Texas.
The project marks Arava’s first solar energy project in the US which was developed with Israel’s leading oil and gas retailer Paz Group and funded in partnership with the insurance company Menora Mivtachim at a total cost of $330 million USD.
Project SUNRAY spans an area of approximately 1,200 acres and is leased for a cumulative period of 50 years. It includes over 500,000 solar panels and is expected to produce 515 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. The result will prevent the emission of 225,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and provide clean electricity to 43,000 homes in the San Antonio area each year.
The SUNRAY project sells 50% of the generated electricity under a 12-year power purchase agreement, and the remaining half is sold on the electricity market in Texas.
“Project SUNRAY is the result of great partners and collaboration with tremendous institutions from the United States, Israel and globally. For Arava Power Company, this isn’t just about breaking new ground in the United States —it’s about demonstrating the power of our platform from development through asset management over our history and across geographies,” said David Rosenblatt, Co-Founder of Arava Power.
“Arava Power’s first project in the United States is a testament to our commitment to quality work and represents the growth we are undertaking.”
Rosenblatt co-founded Arava Power in 2008 with Ed Hofland.
Arava Power and Paz Group began developing the SUNRAY project in 2021, after acquiring it from OCI Energy. They completed financial closing in 2023 and as of last month, finished the construction work and received approval for commercial operation.
“We succeeded in developing our first US project under extremely challenging market conditions,” added Ilan Zidkony, CEO of Arava Power “Over the past few years, our team had to contend with regulatory upheavals, an almost unprecedented inflationary environment, and a complex financing landscape. Our company is proud of this achievement and are grateful for the confidence of top-tier partners and financiers.
“The commercial operation of SUNRAY is a key milestone in Arava Power’s U.S. vision, with a portfolio of projects in various stages of development totaling 1.3 gigawatts across the US.”
Morgan Stanley serves as the Tax Equity partner in the project and together with an additional investor made an investment of approximately $150 million.
