South Korea is positioning itself as a central hub in the global artificial intelligence race, and now the world’s largest asset manager is buying in. BlackRock has agreed to invest in projects that link AI data centers with renewable power in Korea, a step that dovetails with Seoul’s push to expand clean energy and stabilize its grid.
The deal, signed last month in New York between President Lee Jae-myung and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, lays out plans to combine data centers with solar and wind generation, battery storage, and high-voltage transmission lines. For the Korean government, the partnership is part of a broader strategy to handle the massive electricity demand expected from AI growth.
For the United States, the move underscores two realities: South Korea is not just a chip supplier but also a key player in how AI infrastructure will be powered; and U.S. firms like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft—already promising to run their global data centers on 100% renewable energy—will be watching closely to see whether Seoul can deliver a model that balances scale with sustainability.
The economic impact at home could be enormous. Officials project that building data centers, renewable plants, and new grid infrastructure could create hundreds of thousands of jobs across Korean regions. Local industries tied to batteries, cooling systems, and grid technology stand to benefit directly.
But the risks are just as clear. Korea’s data center power demand is projected to climb from 4.5 GW in 2023 to more than 6 GW by 2028, requiring solar installations well beyond the country’s recent pace. Analysts say renewables might only cover 30–40% of the growth, forcing operators to rely on backup sources such as LNG plants or small modular reactors.
“The intermittency of solar and wind remains a hurdle,” said an official from the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning. “But if Korea can integrate AI demand with renewable expansion, it could become a new growth engine for the national economy.”
The challenge mirrors debates in the U.S., where AI’s rapid expansion is colliding with energy infrastructure limits. BlackRock’s Korean bet may be as much about testing solutions abroad as it is about returns—making South Korea’s energy experiment one to watch from Washington to Silicon Valley.
