South Korea rolled out a $200 billion slate of U.S. energy investments that touch three big buckets: eight large nuclear units, a giant natural gas power project in Texas, and potential involvement in the long-discussed Alaska liquefied natural gas effort. Of the total, $120 billion is earmarked for the reactors, split between $100 billion for building costs and $20 billion set aside as contingency. The nuclear accord carries signatures from both governments along with Westinghouse Electric, Korea Electric Power Corp., and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and it also contemplates Korean firms pursuing a significant minority stake in Westinghouse, subject to commercial negotiations.
On the Texas side, the plan includes $22.3 billion for a 6,472-megawatt gas plant in Encinal designed to power co-located data centers. Developer Related Cos. and U.S. utility NextEra Energy are set to lead it, with initial commercial operations targeted for 2029 and additional capacity rolling out in phases through 2032. Washington and Seoul said they aim to widen Korean participation in that project across equipment supply, engineering, construction, and long-term operations and maintenance, and the U.S. said Korean manufacturers would be in the mix to provide equipment, including turbines, to similar projects nationwide.
The economics have long been debated because the upfront capital needs are enormous.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan called the project "high-risk" last year and said taking part would be hard unless it can throw off enough cash to justify the exposure.
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South Korea's president, Lee Jae Myung, posted on X on Thursday local time that any role in the Alaska LNG project hinges on its financial viability and on meeting legal requirements. He also noted nuclear investments would be weighed for commercial viability one plant at a time. A joint statement earlier Wednesday framed Alaska LNG progress as contingent on "commercial reasonableness," without laying out how much money would go specifically to that project.
Trump cast the overall push as a jobs engine, saying the commitments would become "huge construction projects" and deliver "tens of thousands of American jobs." As he put it: "These are massive energy projects, adding power capacity in the United States," and "This is new construction, new manufacturing, and great jobs for American workers."
The headline number is enormous, but several marquee pieces still need to clear commercial tests and legal checks. That introduces uncertainty around timelines, cash flows, and which companies ultimately land the work, especially on Alaska LNG and plant-by-plant nuclear participation. If you're watching energy, utilities, or industrial suppliers, the story is real, but so are the caveats.
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