Amazon to fund 12 small nuclear reactors at Indiana coal plant site

Tech giant partners with X-energy and AEP for 960MW project, but timeline hinges on first plant in Texas

By LineZotpaper

Published20 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Sources2 outlets

Amazon announced Monday it will fund the development of a 960-megawatt nuclear power plant in Indiana, becoming the first customer to buy power from the facility. The company is working with utility American Electric Power (AEP), which would operate the plant, and reactor designer X-energy, which went public in April.

The proposed facility would consist of 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors (SMRs) located on the site of a demolished coal power plant south of Terre Haute, Indiana. The site previously housed the now-defunct coal-fueled Breed Generating Station in Fairbanks, Sullivan County. Amazon says the plant could create 1,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent roles, though no timeline for construction or operation has been announced.

The deal is the second commercial agreement between Amazon and X-energy and is three times larger than their first, which was announced two years ago. Amazon invested heavily in X-energy, leading a $700 million Series C-1 round in October 2024. The two companies have said they ultimately plan to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity in the United States by 2039.

Unlike many newly announced power plants, these reactors would be connected to the public electric grid, though Amazon says the power would also serve its data centers. X-energy is developing small modular reactors, which backers hope will revive the nuclear industry by avoiding the cost overruns and delays that have plagued recent large-scale projects in the U.S.

The aggressive timeline depends on X-energy successfully delivering its first power plant at a Dow Chemical plant southeast of Houston, Texas. That site, called Seadrift, has recently been at the center of a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas, which accuses the plant of "habitual non-compliance" with water and solid-waste regulations and permits. X-energy has yet to break ground at Seadrift, which will host four Xe-100 reactors to provide the chemical plant with heat and electricity. The company said its construction permit is in the final phases of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review process.

News of the Amazon deal sent X-energy's shares up about 10% in pre-market trading, though they were down by less than 2% at the time of publication. The company debuted on the Nasdaq in April at $23 per share, rising 27% on the first day before falling by nearly two-thirds since then.

Analysis

Why This Matters

Amazon's commitment signals growing demand from large tech companies for carbon-free, always-available power to serve data centers and AI workloads.
The project could be a test case for small modular reactors, which have been promised for years but have not yet been commercially deployed at scale in the U.S.
Success could accelerate retirement of coal and natural gas plants in regions with high data center growth.

Background

Large cloud computing companies are betting that small modular reactors will help revive the nuclear industry. The most recent nuclear plants built in the U.S. suffered severe cost overruns and schedule delays. By shrinking reactor size, developers hope to enable factory manufacturing and predictable construction. However, experts say mass-manufacturing benefits typically take about a decade to materialize. X-energy is one of several startups pursuing SMR design and has raised significant investment from Amazon.

Key Perspectives

Amazon: The company secures dedicated zero-carbon electricity for its data centers while supporting grid reliability and contributing to its climate goals. AEP and X-energy: The utility gains a customer for a large new generation asset; the reactor developer gets a second, much larger commercial order to prove its technology at scale. Critics and skeptics: Small modular reactors remain unproven at this size. The Texas plant, which must be completed first, faces a state lawsuit over environmental compliance and has not yet broken ground. Previous nuclear projects in the U.S. have encountered regulatory delays and budget overruns.

What to Watch

Progress on X-energy's Seadrift plant in Texas, including groundbreaking and NRC construction permit approval.
Any announcements on a construction timeline for the Indiana facility.
X-energy's stock performance as a proxy for investor confidence in SMR deployment.

Sources

Amazon is funding a new nuclear plant in Indiana · The Verge
Amazon to fund 12 small nuclear reactors at former Indiana coal plant · TechCrunch

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 2 sources: 12 supported.

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SupportedAmazon to fund 12 small nuclear reactors at Indiana coal plant siteTechCrunch: “Amazon to fund 12 small nuclear reactors at former Indiana coal plant”
SupportedTech giant partners with X-energy and AEP for 960MW project, but timeline hinges on first plant in TexasTechCrunch: “Amazon announced Monday it will fund the development of a 960-megawatt nuclear power plant... the first customer... Utility company American Electric Power (AEP) would operate the plant. X-energy... The companies’ aggressive timeline still depends on X-energy successfully delivering its first power plant at a Dow Chemical plant southeast of Houston, Texas.”
SupportedAmazon announced Monday it will fund the development of a 960-megawatt nuclear power plant in Indiana, becoming the first customer to buy power from the facility.TechCrunch: “Amazon announced Monday it will fund the development of a 960-megawatt nuclear power plant in Indiana and would be the first customer to buy its power”
SupportedThe proposed facility would consist of 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors (SMRs) located on the site of a demolished coal power plant south of Terre Haute, Indiana.TechCrunch: “The new power plant would consist of 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors and be located on the site of a demolished coal power plant just south of Terre Haute”
SupportedThe site previously housed the now-defunct coal-fueled Breed Generating Station in Fairbanks, Sullivan County.The Verge: “which would replace the now defunct coal-fueled Breed Generating Station in Fairbanks, Sullivan County”
SupportedAmazon says the plant could create 1,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent roles, though no timeline for construction or operation has been announced.The Verge: “Amazon says it 'could' create 1,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent roles. No timeline for construction or operation has been announced.”
SupportedThe deal is the second commercial agreement between Amazon and X-energy and is three times larger than their first, which was announced two years ago.TechCrunch: “The deal is the second commercial agreement between Amazon and X-energy, and it’s three times larger than the first, which was announced two years ago.”
SupportedAmazon invested heavily in X-energy, leading a $700 million Series C-1 round in October 2024.TechCrunch: “Amazon has invested heavily in X-energy, leading a $700 million Series C-1 round in October 2024.”
SupportedThe two companies have said they ultimately plan to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity in the United States by 2039.TechCrunch: “The two companies have said they ultimately plan to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity in the U.S. by 2039.”
SupportedUnlike many newly announced power plants, these reactors would be connected to the public electric grid, though Amazon says the power would also serve its data centers.TechCrunch: “Unlike many newly announced power plants, these reactors would be connected to the public electric grid, though Amazon says the power would also serve its data centers.”
SupportedThe aggressive timeline depends on X-energy successfully delivering its first power plant at a Dow Chemical plant southeast of Houston, Texas. That site, called Seadrift, has recently been at the center of a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas, which accuses the plant of 'habitual non-compliance' with water and solid-waste regulations and permits.TechCrunch: “The companies’ aggressive timeline still depends on X-energy successfully delivering its first power plant at a Dow Chemical plant southeast of Houston, Texas. The site, called Seadrift, has recently been at the center of a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas, which accuses the plant of 'habitual non-compliance' with water and solid-waste regulations and permits.”
SupportedNews of the Amazon deal sent X-energy's shares up about 10% in pre-market trading, though they were down by less than 2% at the time of publication. The company debuted on the Nasdaq in April at $23 per share, rising 27% on the first day before falling by nearly two-thirds since then.TechCrunch: “News of the Amazon deal sent X-energy’s shares up about 10% in pre-market trading, though they were down by less than 2% at the time of publication. X-energy debuted on the Nasdaq in April in an IPO priced at $23 per share. Investor excitement drove the price up 27% in the first day of trading, but shares of the newly public company have dropped by nearly two-thirds since then.”