Amazon and X-energy plan 12 nuclear reactors in Indiana
Amazon, X-energy and AEP are exploring 12 small modular reactors in Indiana, but the proposed 960MW project still faces licensing and construction hurdles.
Amazon and X-energy are backing a proposed Indiana nuclear project that would place 12 small modular reactors on the site of a retired coal plant, with the planned facility targeting 960 megawatts of electricity for the regional grid and Amazon’s expanding data-centre operations.12
The companies are working with American Electric Power (AEP) and its Indiana Michigan Power utility on the proposed development at the former Breed Generating Station site in Sullivan County. Amazon would act as the project’s development funder and first customer, buying electricity from the plant if it reaches operation.1
What is being proposed
Each X-energy Xe-100 reactor is designed to produce 80 megawatts using helium cooling and TRISO fuel. X-energy describes TRISO as a fuel system built from uranium particles encased in layers of high-temperature ceramic, while Amazon says the reactor design is intended to reduce reliance on active safety systems in some accident scenarios.1
The Indiana project is part of a wider Amazon and X-energy plan to add more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the United States by 2039. Amazon led X-energy’s $700 million Series C-1 financing round in 2024, which supported reactor design, licensing work and the first phase of a TRISO-X fuel facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.12
The proposed plant would serve two purposes: supplying power to Indiana’s grid and providing a long-term electricity source for Amazon’s data centres. That matters because demand from data-centre expansion and artificial-intelligence workloads is pushing operators to look for dependable power that can run around the clock, rather than relying solely on variable renewable generation.1
The difficult part is still ahead
The project is not a construction commitment with a confirmed launch date. The companies still need to progress through planning, licensing and regulatory approvals, and the United States has yet to operate a commercial small modular reactor supplying electricity to the grid.2
TechRadar reports that an X-energy representative indicated the Indiana facility could become operational in the middle of the 2030s, but also stressed that the estimate could change as development proceeds.2 Approval for another X-energy project would not automatically cover this installation, meaning the Indiana site faces its own regulatory path.
That uncertainty is the central detail behind the headline. The proposed 960MW output is significant, but it describes a target for a project that remains in development, not power that is already available to Amazon or Indiana customers. The timeline, final cost, reactor licensing and construction schedule could all move before the first unit is commissioned.
Our opinion
Amazon’s Indiana proposal is notable because it pairs a large technology company’s electricity demand with a specific customer commitment for a new nuclear project. That is more concrete than simply announcing an ambition to use more carbon-free energy: Amazon is helping create the commercial case for the plant and says it would buy the power if the development succeeds.
But the proposal should be read as a long-term infrastructure bet, not an imminent fix for data-centre electricity demand. The reactors still need approval and construction, while the commercial small-modular-reactor sector has not yet demonstrated routine grid-scale operation in the United States. The project is worth watching precisely because it tests whether a major cloud and AI power buyer can help move advanced nuclear technology from investment pitch to working plant.