Amazon backs a 960 MW Indiana nuclear proposal with AEP and X-energy

Amazon will contribute development funding to a proposed nuclear project near the retired Breed Generating Station in Sullivan County, Indiana. X-energy and American Electric Power announced their Joint Development Agreement on 19 October. Amazon’s funding is tied to development milestones. Plans envisage twelve small modular reactors, each designed to produce 80 MW of electricity.[1]

A customer, an owner and a reactor developer

Indiana Michigan Power’s project page sets out the division of work. AEP would own and operate the facility, using X-energy’s Xe-100 technology. Amazon intends to purchase electricity under a long-term contract that would cover the facility’s costs and operations during that contract.[2]

The utility proposes adding reactors in phases and connecting the facility to the regional grid. Its stated goal is to reach a final investment decision after establishing that the project is feasible.[2]

That arrangement gives Amazon two roles at different stages: supporting the work needed to develop a possible plant, then providing a market for its electricity. Ownership and day-to-day operation would sit with the utility.[2]

The next work happens before construction

I&M says the next stages include site development, nuclear licensing, PJM interconnection approvals and financing decisions. It describes these as processes lasting several years. Field work and environmental surveys were already under way in September to assess the site’s suitability.[2]

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