South Korea AI Expansion Adds 30 GW Power Demand Equal to 20 Nuclear Reactors

New infrastructure for artificial intelligence and chip manufacturing in South Korea creates an immediate need for more electricity capacity, Energy Minister Kim Sung-whan told Reuters. The expansion of data centers and semiconductor fabs will add roughly 25 GW to 30 GW of demand, which equates to adding 20 nuclear reactors to the current system.

The South Korean government will publish an updated long-term energy roadmap through 2040 next month to manage the growth. Minister Kim described the projected power needs as enormous relative to the country's existing infrastructure.