Business · Energy & Commodities · 3 hrs ago
Amazon plans to buy power from 12 proposed Indiana nuclear reactors
Amazon plans to buy electricity from 12 proposed reactors at a former coal power station site in Sullivan County, Indiana.
The reactors are being developed by X-energy and are designed to supply Amazon’s expanding data center operations as well as the regional electricity grid.
Together, the planned reactors would provide 960 megawatts of power.
They are small modular reactors, a type of nuclear plant made up of smaller units; the United States does not yet operate a commercial one that supplies electricity.
Amazon’s planned purchases would give the project an expected customer, which could help developers secure funding and advance the work.
Regulatory approvals are still needed, and construction dates remain uncertain, though an X-energy representative said the facility could open in the middle of the 2030s.
Amazon plans to buy electricity from a proposed Indiana nuclear project involving 12 small modular reactors.
The reactors, developed by X-energy, are planned to produce a combined 960 megawatts for Indiana’s grid and Amazon’s data center operations.
The proposed facility would be built at the former Breed coal generating station site in Sullivan County.
Construction and commissioning dates are uncertain, and the project still needs to advance through planning and regulatory requirements.
An X-energy representative said the facility could become operational in the mid-2030s, but warned the schedule could change.
- Who
- Amazon plans to buy power from the proposed project, which involves 12 reactors from X-energy.
- What
- The companies are proposing a nuclear facility with a planned total output of 960 megawatts.
- When
- An X-energy representative indicated it could become operational in the mid-2030s, but said the schedule could change.
- Where
- The former Breed coal generating station site in Sullivan County, Indiana.
- Why
- The project is intended to supply electricity for Amazon’s expanding data center operations and the regional grid.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Amazon led a $700 million financing round supporting X-energy’s reactor development and fuel production preparations.
An X-energy representative indicated the Indiana facility could become operational, while warning the schedule could change.
- Reactors
- 12 proposed X-energy Xe-100 reactors
- Planned output
- 960 megawatts combined
- Location
- Former Breed coal generating station site, Sullivan County, Indiana
- Reactor output
- 80 megawatts each
- Financing round
- $700 million led by Amazon in 2024
What people are saying
New technologies like this often need initial customers to help de-risk projects and provide funding so they can be built and scaled to commercial availability.