- South Korea could invest $22.3 billion in a massive Texas gas plant
- The proposed facility would generate 6.3 GW of electricity for AI
- Seoul says negotiations remain unfinished, leaving the reported investment unconfirmed
South Korea and the United States have reportedly settled on how much Seoul will contribute towards a new energy facility in southern Texas.
Korean outlet Edaily, citing unnamed officials and lawmakers, reported the contribution at close to $22.3 billion for the venture, which would be built in Encinal, Texas, and is expected to produce 6.3 gigawatts of electricity to power AI data centersonce fully operational.
The contribution would mark Seoul’s first American investment carried out under an economic arrangement the two nations signed in 2025 which saw South Korea commit $350 billion toward ventures inside the United States in exchange for friendlier duty terms on its exports.
A deal rooted in last year’s pact
However South Korea’s Industry Ministry said the recent media reports about the Texas deal were not accurate, revealing that official discussions with Washington are still going on, so no exact numbers can be confirmed yet.
Any formal announcement would come only after discussions conclude, alongside domestic steps such as approval from South Korea’s legislature.
In a separate statement, the ministry noted that no decision has been reached on building an atomic energy facility on American soil.
South Korea is also weighing other ventures inside the United States, including a large-scale nuclear station and a separate gas export scheme tied to Alaska.
Scale, cost and open questions
Should the project proceed as reported, it would rank among the most expensive natural-gas-fueled generating stations ever constructed anywhere in the world.
Industry accounts also suggest the plant could become the second most powerful facility of its kind currently in operation globally.
At the moment, there is no clarification whether Seoul intends to finance the entire sum on its own or share the burden.
The Encinal facility, once running, would supply electricity to server farms supporting growing artificial intelligence computing needs across the region.
Washington has also not issued detailed confirmation of the numbers currently circulating in South Korean press coverage.
For now, financing structure, ownership stakes and construction timelines have not been settled publicly by either government.
Current details are very sketchy, but analysts say the eventual scale of investment could shift depending on how negotiations with Washington proceed this fall.
Whatever the details turn out to be, a facility of this size would place significant demand on the Texas electrical grid, water access and local infrastructure.
Given how US residents have reacted to projects with similar demands, that pressure may not be welcomed quietly by communities near Encinal.
