--- id: amazon-nuclear-indiana-x-energy-smr-2026-10-19 category: business image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1460925895917-afdab827c52f?w=1200 affiliate: false ---
Amazon, X-energy, and American Electric Power (AEP) announced a joint development agreement this Monday, October 19, to study the feasibility of a 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Sullivan County, Indiana — on the former site of the dismantled Breed Generating Station coal plant. The project proposes 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors, each rated at 80 MW, and marks the second commercial agreement between Amazon and X-energy under an initiative aimed at adding more than 5 GW of new nuclear capacity to the United States by 2039.
The proposed facility could create more than 1,000 construction jobs and over 100 permanent positions. Amazon would pay for the initial development and be the first power purchaser under a long-term contract. AEP would operate the plant through its Indiana Michigan Power subsidiary. X-energy supplies the Xe-100 reactor design, a high-temperature gas-cooled small modular reactor using helium as a coolant and TRISO fuel, which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission describes as one of the safest and most proliferation-resistant technologies available.
Why Indiana?
The location was not chosen lightly. The former Breed Generating Station site is owned by AEP, an established utility in the American Midwest, and repurposing decommissioned coal plants for nuclear power carries both symbolic and practical weight: the electrical infrastructure is already grid-connected, local permitting channels are open, and the regional technical workforce already understands power generation. Indiana Governor Mike Braun said in a statement that the decision "represents the kind of innovation and investment that can deliver lasting benefits" for the state.
Indiana has positioned advanced nuclear energy as a central part of its energy strategy, alongside renewables and natural gas. The plant would be the state's first commercial nuclear generation.
Amazon's financing model
Amazon's money is structured as "milestone-based development capital" — funds are released as the project passes defined checkpoints, a mechanism X-energy has used since its first agreement with the company in Washington state, the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility. This "pay-as-you-grow" approach allows cloud hyperscalers to expand power generation capacity alongside actual compute demand, without relying on projections that may prove excessive.
Amazon has ambitious scale targets. The company wants more than 5 GW of new U.S. nuclear power by 2039. To get there, it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy for 690 MW from Maryland's Calvert Cliffs plant and invested over $1 billion in projects with X-energy, Dominion Energy, and Energy Northwest. In 2024, Amazon led a $700 million round in X-energy itself — the company, which went public in April 2026 on the Nasdaq, is now in Series D with a $2 billion valuation.
The first-reactor challenge
The Indiana bet hinges on one critical detail: X-energy must first deliver its first operational plant. The Seadrift project in Texas, which would house four Xe-100 reactors for Dow Chemical, is currently the real-world testbed. The NRC license application for Seadrift is in its final review phase. But the project already faces obstacles — Texas sued X-energy, accusing the plant of "habitual non-compliance" with water and solid waste regulations. No ground has been broken at Seadrift.
The NRC is conducting an 18-month review of Seadrift, a process that could delay and set the precedent for whether Xe-100 reactors receive approval for wider deployment. A delay at Seadrift would automatically push back the Indiana timeline.
The wider context: the AI power race
This project fits into a broader movement. Cloud companies are signing nuclear deals years ahead of actual need — Amazon purchased the Susquehanna nuclear plant-adjacent data center campus in 2025 for $650 million and is now on track for 5 GW in new capacity. Each new AI chip increases per-rack consumption: the Vera Rubin NVL72 already reaches 200 kW, and the future Rubin Ultra NVL576 should hit 600 kW by 2027.
Nearly half of planned 2026 large data center projects have not yet disclosed a power strategy. Transformers, switchgear, and batteries are in short supply. The modularity of SMRs — each unit between 50 MW and 300 MW, deployed incrementally — is presented as the ideal solution to bypass interconnection queues and deliver power directly to data center campuses.
Coal-to-nuclear transitions on existing sites could become a replicable pattern across other regions. Indiana is the first large-scale announcement, but it likely won't be the last — especially if Seadrift proves successful and the NRC accelerates approvals. The question is how long it will take before a small modular reactor plant goes online, and how long the energy market can wait.
Sources: TechCrunch, X-energy, ANS Nuclear News
✓ Independent sources cross-checked and verified before publishing
