Amazon Signs Agreement with X-energy and AEP for Nearly 1 GW Nuclear Deployment in Indiana
Amazon, X-energy, and American Electric Power (AEP) have signed an agreement to explore the deployment of X-energy's small modular reactor technology in Indiana, aiming to build 12 Xe-100 reactors that will add 960 MW of carbon-free power.
This power will serve both the regional grid and Amazon's data centers. Amazon will provide project development funding and will be the first power purchaser after operations begin, covering facility and operational costs through a long-term power purchase agreement to avoid passing costs onto other users.
This is the second project under the collaboration framework between Amazon and X-energy, which aims to add over 5 GW of nuclear power capacity to the U.S. grid by 2039. The previous project was the Cascade Advanced Energy facility in Washington State.
The proposed site is the decommissioned Breed coal-fired power plant in Sullivan County, Indiana. If advanced, the project could create over 1,000 construction jobs and more than 100 permanent jobs. Each Xe-100 unit has a capacity of about 80 MW and utilizes a high-temperature gas-cooled design.
The agreement is currently in the joint development assessment phase, with no clear construction or operational timeline yet. Amazon stated that this move will help meet Indiana's growing energy demands and advance its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2040.
Funding is shifting from purely renewable energy procurement to advanced nuclear projects backed by technology companies providing development capital and long-term power purchase commitments. Data center operators gain stable, carbon-free power supply, utilities receive demand signals, and retired coal sites gain redevelopment pathways.
Source: Public Information
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Amazon led a $700 million financing round for X-energy in 2024, setting a goal to add over 5 GW of nuclear power by 2039. Following this, it will collaborate with regional utilities to advance multiple Xe-100 projects, with the Indiana agreement being the second specific deployment exploration after Washington's Cascade, indicating its strategy to position small modular reactors as a core option for long-term power supply to data centers.
By providing development funding and committing to long-term power purchases, Amazon is leveraging X-energy's technology and AEP's operational capabilities, motivated to secure dispatchable, carbon-free baseload power for AI and cloud computing loads while avoiding cost pass-through to ordinary users. Specific actions include selecting retired coal sites to reduce site selection resistance.
This contrasts with Microsoft and Google, which support existing nuclear plants or advanced nuclear through power purchase agreements. Currently, U.S. tech companies are shifting from intermittent renewable energy procurement to a mixed supply model that includes both small modular reactors and traditional nuclear to match the growing loads of data centers.
Essentially, this represents a restructuring of the industry chain: as data center power demand rapidly expands with high reliability and low carbon requirements, tech companies are transforming from mere power purchasers to direct participants in nuclear project development through capital and long-term contracts. The mechanism is that long-term power purchase commitments provide demand certainty, enabling financing and advancement conditions for yet-to-be-commercialized small modular reactors.
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- Long-term power purchase commitments provide financing windows for uncommercialized technologies.
- Data center loads push tech companies towards baseload power development.
- Retired coal sites become low-resistance entry points for advanced nuclear.