Amazon has partnered with reactor developer X-energy and utility operator American Electric Power to fund a 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Indiana. The facility, featuring 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors at a former coal site near Terre Haute, will feed carbon-free energy into the public electric grid while supplying Amazon's AI data centers. The agreement advances a joint goal to build 5 gigawatts of U.S. nuclear capacity by 2039, though commercial timelines hinge on X-energy resolving regulatory permitting and state enforcement litigation at its initial Texas deployment site.
Proposed Indiana nuclear plant details
- ▪Amazon stated that the proposed 960-megawatt Indiana nuclear plant could create 1,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent roles
- ▪The proposed 960-megawatt nuclear plant near Terre Haute, Indiana, will be connected to the public electric grid while providing power for Amazon's regional data centers
- ▪A proposed Indiana nuclear facility backed by Amazon would consist of 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors operated by American Electric Power at the former Breed Generating Station coal plant site near Terre Haute in Sullivan County
- ▪Amazon signed an agreement with X-energy and American Electric Power to fund a proposed 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Indiana and become its first power customer
Amazon and X-Energy nuclear partnership
- ▪Amazon and X-energy ultimately plan to deploy more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity across the U.S. by 2039
- ▪The 960-megawatt Indiana nuclear project represents the second commercial agreement between Amazon and X-energy, following Amazon leading a $700 million Series C-1 round in X-energy in October 2024
X-energy Seadrift facility in Texas
- ▪X-energy's initial deployment timeline for its Xe-100 reactors depends on delivering four reactors at Dow Chemical's Seadrift plant in Texas, where construction has not yet broken ground
- ▪X-energy stated that its construction permit for the Seadrift facility is in the final phases of review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- ▪The state of Texas filed a lawsuit against X-energy's Seadrift facility, accusing the site of habitual non-compliance with water and solid-waste regulations and permits
Xe-100 reactor technology
- ▪X-energy's Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors can use air, water, or hybrid cooling systems to allow deployment in water-constrained locations without affecting local water demand
- ▪X-energy's Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor remains an unproven design that is currently undergoing development and regulatory licensing
Tech industry nuclear push
- ▪Startups and large cloud computing companies are betting on small modular nuclear reactors to pull the nuclear power industry out of its slump
- ▪Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google are exploring nuclear energy projects to satisfy the massive power demands of artificial intelligence data centers
Nuclear industry cost challenges
- ▪Recent conventional nuclear power plants built in the U.S. suffered from major budget overruns and delayed construction timelines
- ▪Industry experts state that mass manufacturing of small modular nuclear reactors will not produce cost or schedule benefits for about a decade
Indiana nuclear history
- ▪Historical nuclear projects in Indiana faced cost issues, including the Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant which was abandoned half-finished in 1983 after $2.5 billion in expenditures
- ▪The abandoned Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant site in Indiana has been under ongoing demolition since 2008
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