Amazon backs proposed nuclear plant in Indiana

Amazon has signed an agreement with X-energy and American Electric Power (AEP) to fund a proposed nuclear energy facility in Indiana. The plant would replace the former coal-fired Breed Generating Station in Fairbanks, Sullivan County, and aims to supply up to 960 megawatts of carbon-free energy to the regional grid and Amazon data centers.

The project is targeting 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors, which are still in development and licensing. Amazon says they could use air, water or a hybrid cooling system, allowing deployment in water-constrained areas without increasing local communities’ water demand. No construction or operating schedule has been announced. Amazon says the facility could create 1,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent roles.

Agreement terms have not been disclosed. The site’s history includes the unfinished Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant, abandoned in 1983 after $2.5 billion had been spent on it. Demolition has continued since 2008.

This is Amazon and X-energy’s second nuclear energy project together. They aim to work with regional utilities to deploy more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the US by 2039. Amazon previewed its planned Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Washington in October last year; that project also targets 12 reactors, with construction not expected to begin until the end of this decade. Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google are among technology companies exploring nuclear power for AI data centers.