Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,
Japan has committed $36 billion as the first tranche of its $550-billion U.S. investment pledge under last year’s trade deal, including plans to build a 9.2 GW natural gas power plant in Ohio.
The remaining funds will support a synthetic diamond factory and the Texas GulfLink deepwater oil export terminal.
The massive gas plant reflects surging U.S. electricity demand — particularly from AI-driven data centers — with natural gas emerging as the preferred source of reliable baseload power.
Japan has made the first commitments under a $550-billion investment program that made part of its trade deal with President Trump.Those first commitments are worth $36 billion and include what Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hascalled“the largest natural gas generation facility in history.”
The U.S. and Japan sealed a trade deal last summer, featuring a reduction in proposed tariffs—from 25% to 15%—on Japanese imports and a $550-billion Japanese investment pledge for the U.S. economy.Japan also pledged under the deal to expand market access for American goods, including cars, agricultural products, and energy.
Most of the money from that first investment tranche would be used to build the largest natural gas power plant, with a capacity of 9.2 GW.
“We will strengthen grid reliability, expand baseload power, and support American manufacturing with affordable energy,” Secretary Lutnick said in a statement after the deal. The plant will be built in Ohio. The facility will be operated by a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank, SB Energy.
The rest of the money would be split between a synthetic diamond factory and a deepwater oil port in the Gulf.
“This project is expected to generate $20–30 billion annually in U.S. crude exports, secure export capacity for our refineries, and reinforce America’s position as the world’s leading energy supplier,” per Lutnick.
Source: ZeroHedge News
