The president of the United States, Donald Trump, accompanied by the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, has unveiled an investment package of up to 200 billion dollars (176 billion euros) from the Government of South Korea, aimed at boosting three major energy infrastructure initiatives on U.S. territory. The plan includes the construction of eight large-capacity nuclear power plants, a natural gas power generation plant in Texas, and the development of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline from Alaska.
Trump has defined the set of projects as "one of the largest energy infrastructure projects in the history of the United States" and has emphasized that the South Korean funds act as compensation for the tariff reduction to 15% applied by his administration to Seoul under the bilateral trade agreement. "South Korea is going to invest its sovereign money, almost 200 billion dollars, in American energy infrastructure to strengthen the energy dominance of the United States," Lutnick recalled during the announcement in the Oval Office of the White House.
'Project Power': eight new nuclear reactors
The most costly initiative, called 'Project Power', plans to build eight large nuclear reactors distributed across several states, including Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky. The total expected expenditure amounts to 120 billion dollars (106 billion euros). According to the Department of Commerce in a statement, this agreement aligns with the executive order on nuclear energy signed in May 2025, which sets the goal of having ten new reactors under construction by 2030.
'Project North': LNG pipeline in Alaska
The second major axis of the package, 'Project North', finally promotes the long-delayed LNG pipeline from Alaska, with an investment of just over 50 billion dollars (44 billion euros). Trump has emphasized that this is a project promised for decades without being executed and that it will now translate into up to 12,000 direct jobs during the construction phase and 1,000 permanent operation positions, in addition to an estimated annual savings of between 1,500 and 2,200 dollars (1,320 and 1,940 euros) on the energy bills of households in Alaska.
The agreement includes a preferential access for South Korea to the extracted gas and, according to Lutnick, will make a good part of Southeast Asia depend on the energy supply from the United States, altering "global geopolitics."
The presentation of this investment package has also served Trump to stage his support for the Republican senator from Alaska, Dan Sullivan, who aims to revalidate his seat in the midterm elections on November 3, in a very tight contest against the Democrat Mary Peltola.
'Project Star': gas macroplant in Texas
The third pillar, 'Project Star', includes the installation in Texas of a natural gas power generation plant with a capacity of 6,472 megawatts. The first phase is expected to come into operation in 2029 and for the plant to operate at full capacity in 2032.
In this same state, another of the most competitive races of the 'midterms' will take place, between the Republican Ken Paxton and the Democrat James Talarico. Texas, a traditional stronghold of the Republican Party, has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, making this struggle one of the most watched as a possible thermometer of the level of opposition to Trump in one of his historical strongholds.