| (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday $200 billion in energy investments from South Korea, including $54 billion toward a long-discussed liquefied natural gas project in Alaska and more than $100 billion in planned longer-term nuclear power investments.
Besides the Alaska LNG project and pipeline and the nuclear plants, the Trump administration announced a $22.3 billion natural gas-fired power project in Texas that would be supported by Seoul.
The announcement details South Korea`s previous pledges to make good on a tariff deal with Trump.
South Korea had agreed to invest $350 billion in the United States and boost its purchases of US energy as part of a July 2025 trade deal with Trump that set 15 percent tariffs on South Korean goods imported into the United States.
Top Trump administration officials, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, joined the president for an Oval Office ceremony with Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, who is facing a tough reelection contest in November.
The Alaska project, championed by Glenfarne Group, a New York- and Houston-based industrial project developer, envisions the construction of an 800-mile pipeline to transport natural gas from the Alaska North Slope to a liquefaction facility near Anchorage to prepare for export to Asia.
Alaska officials have considered such a project in the past, but have not moved ahead due to questions about project costs and consumer demand for the LNG.
While Alaska has decades of history as a petroleum producer, environmental concerns have historically constrained some developments.
But the Trump administration has largely brushed aside environmental concerns, canceling regulations to reduce emissions that cause global warming while pursuing an "energy dominance" agenda that favors fossil fuel development.
The natural gas power facility in Texas will provide 6,472 MW of energy to data centers located at the same site in the town of Encinal, a US Commerce Department statement said. The facility is expected to come fully online by 2032.
The investment deal`s nuclear power component sets aside $120 billion under a "a broad agreement to reach a finalization for investment projects in the US nuclear power sector," the Commerce Department said.
That figure includes $100 billion for construction costs and $20 billion in contingency reserves, the department`s statement said.
It said that $10 billion would be made available by the end of the year for the projects.
Trump`s industrial ramp-up envisioned for his widespread energy projects faces a potential labor shortfall, according to experts.
The United States needs to fill an estimated 1.7 million skilled trade openings through 2035, according to a report released Wednesday by the Alliance for America`s Skilled Trades, an organization of Ford, Blackstone, Nvidia and other large companies.
The report found today`s training programs produce just 55 workers for every 100 needed.
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