Hyundai Heavy industries (HHI) won a USD 700 million deal to build a 175MW solar power plant from US based Matinee Energy.  By the end of 2012 HHI will build two solar power plants in Dragoon and Cochise having 150 MW and 25 MW output respectively.

Notably, the contract is based on Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) terms which enables HHI to supply the entire system ranging from design, manufacturing, and installation to test-run. Solar modules will be manufactured in HHI’s Eumseong plant in South Korea.

HHI president and CEO Lee Jai-seong and COO Kim Kwon-tae joined the official contract signing event held in New York on August 10.

The deal is part of Matinee Energy’s project to build solar power plants that generate a combined 900 MW in the California and Arizona regions. Since March of this year HHI has been in talks with Matinee Energy and was selected for the project beating major solar power manufacturers from Europe and China.

“By successfully completing this project HHI will be recognized as an integrated solar power system provider who can not only make certain components but build large scale solar power plants. This will lead to further solar power plant orders from different regions such as Europe and Asia,” said HHI COO Kim Kwon-tae.

HHI acquired solar module certificate from UL, US safety approval organization in June 2009 and is currently expanding its solar cell and module plant facilities to increase annual production capacity to 600MW respectively.

HHI is South Korea’s only company which can produce entire solar power systems ranging from polysilicon, solar cell, and solar module to generating system.