Sabanci Boosts US Footprint with New 156-MW Texas Solar Project

• Turkey’s Sabanci Holding buys 156 MW Pepper Solar in Texas, lifting its US portfolio to 660 MW and advancing the group’s international clean-energy strategy.

Turkey’s Sabanci Holding has taken another decisive step in its North-American renewables push, buying the 156-MW Pepper Solar project now taking shape in Fort Bend County, Texas. The deal, completed by its Boston-based arm Sabanci Renewables Inc., gives the Turkish conglomerate full control of Pepper Solar Farm LLC—holder of the project’s licence and grid interconnection rights—according to a filing with Borsa Istanbul on Tuesday.

Construction crews have already broken ground, and commercial operation is pencilled in for the third quarter of 2027. Once the first electrons flow, Pepper Solar will supply enough clean power for roughly 30,000 Texan homes while offsetting an estimated 210,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

The acquisition lifts Sabanci Renewables’ US portfolio to 660 MW of solar capacity. Its flagship 272-MWdc Cutlass II plant, also near Houston, entered service earlier this year, while the 232-MWdc Oriana project is slated to switch on before the end of July. All three sites sit within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, which has become a magnet for corporate clean-energy buyers thanks to abundant sunshine, available land, and streamlined permitting.

Sabanci framed the deal as part of its broader strategy to scale “the new economy”—shorthand for ventures driven by digitalisation, energy transition, and sustainability. “Expanding our presence in the United States not only diversifies our generation base but positions us at the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic solar markets,” the company said in its statement.

The move also signals confidence in utility-scale solar economics even as equipment prices and financing costs fluctuate. Projects like Pepper Solar can tap a 30 % investment tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act, with additional bonuses for domestic content and energy-community siting.

Sabanci, whose interests span banking, cement, and retail, first entered the US renewables arena in 2023. Analysts note that topping the gigawatt mark would give the group critical mass to negotiate power-purchase agreements and hedge its merchant exposure. By folding Pepper Solar into its pipeline, Sabanci edges closer to that milestone—and underscores its ambition to compete on the global clean-energy stage with Texas as its proving ground.