A project to build a gas combined-cycle power plant in Encinal, Texas, is reportedly under review as the first project in a $350 billion investment program in the United States. Korea and the United States are also said to be in talks on a plan to build up to eight large nuclear power plants in the United States.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources reportedly delivered this update at a closed-door ruling party-government consultation at the National Assembly on the 7th. Lawmakers from the Finance and Economy Planning Committee and the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, as well as Park Jeong-seong, head of the Office of the Minister for Trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), and working-level negotiators for talks with the United States, were said to have attended.
The Encinal project is a plan to build a gas combined-cycle power plant in the Encinal area of Texas. Texas is seeing a surge in power demand centered on artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The Encinal project is intended to respond to this, with a total installed capacity of about 6.3 gigawatts (GW).
The Korean government initially considered around $20 billion, but negotiations were reportedly delayed longer than expected after the U.S. side abruptly demanded a 25% increase to $25 billion. The two sides are said to have found common ground at around $22 billion.
The plant will be built in stages. A 1.4 GW gas turbine power facility will be constructed first to check actual demand and economic feasibility, after which a 4.9 GW high-efficiency combined-cycle facility is expected to be built sequentially.
As a follow-up investment project in the United States, a plan to build up to eight large nuclear power plants in the country is under discussion. However, coordination is reportedly underway to include a broad phrase, "cooperation on building eight nuclear power plants."
The U.S.-bound investment projects are reviewed by the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Project Management Committee, chaired by the Minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), and then deliberated and resolved by the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Operations Committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Economy, before being reported to the National Assembly.
Korea and the United States are expected to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 18th.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said, "Talks between Korea and the United States are ongoing, and specific details have not yet been decided."