Full Breakdown
South Korea and United States Discuss $22.3 B Texas Gas Power Project
9/7/2026, 10:13:36 PM
Reported Investment Details
Media reports from Korean outlet Edaily cite unnamed officials saying the two governments were expected to settle on an investment of roughly $22.3 billion for a natural-gas-fired power plant in Encinal, Texas. The plant would have a generation capacity of 6.3 gigawatts and is intended to supply electricity to the growing number of artificial-intelligence data centres in the state. The reports do not specify whether the South Korean government would fund the entire project or share costs with private partners.
Background & Context
The proposed Texas project is tied to the bilateral trade agreement signed last year, under which Seoul pledged $350 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for preferential tariff treatment on South Korean exports. The agreement also includes commitments for energy-related projects, such as a possible large-scale nuclear power plant and an LNG development in Alaska.
Data & Statistics
- Investment amount: reported at about $22.3 billion (? 30 trillion won).
- Plant capacity: 6.3 GW, equivalent to roughly 4.5 APR1400 nuclear reactors.
- Generation mix: planned to consist of 1.4 GW gas-turbine generation and 5 GW combined-cycle generation.
- Cost evolution (per later government briefing): initial estimate $16.8 billion (? 22.6 trillion won), later rose to $19.8 billion, with the U.S. side proposing $25 billion before a compromise at $22.3 billion was reached.
Official Statements & Responses
- South Korea’s Industry Ministry described the media reports as “inaccurate” and emphasized that consultations with Washington were still ongoing, making it difficult to confirm any specific details at this stage. The ministry added that a formal announcement would follow the completion of negotiations and any required parliamentary approval.
- The National Assembly and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy briefed lawmakers that the Encinal project had been finalized under the “Special Act on U.S. Investment,” outlining the agreed-upon cost and the structure of an investment special-purpose vehicle (I-SPV) to manage fund flows and returns.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Early reports (cited by Edaily and reproduced by several outlets) presented the $22.3 billion figure as an agreed amount, while the Industry Ministry later labeled those reports “inaccurate” and said negotiations were still in progress.
- The later government briefing indicates that the project cost was negotiated up and down before settling on the same $22.3 billion figure, suggesting that the earlier “agreement” may have referred to a provisional target rather than a finalized contract.
- No public detail has been provided on the financing structure, the share of private versus state funding, or the timeline for construction.
What’s Next
Government officials indicated that a final bilateral agreement could be signed “as early as the 18th,” though no month or year was specified. The same briefings noted that a broader framework for pursuing up to eight nuclear reactors in the United States will be included in the investment pact, with each reactor projected to cost between $15 billion and $20 billion. Further parliamentary review and detailed project planning are expected before construction begins.