Amazon Funds 960 MW SMR Nuclear Facility at Former Indiana Coal Site
Amazon Partners with X-Energy and AEP for Indiana Nuclear Site
Technology enterprise Amazon entered into a definitive agreement with developer X-energy and utility American Electric Power to construct a nuclear facility in Indiana. The proposed generation complex will repurpose the site of the retired coal-powered Breed Generating Station located in Fairbanks within Sullivan County. The redevelopment plan aims to generate up to 960 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to power regional utility grids and energy-intensive data centers. Financial provisions governing the commercial partnership between Amazon and regional utilities have not been publicly disclosed. The project represents the second joint commercial nuclear development initiative established between Amazon and advanced reactor specialist X-energy.
Sullivan County participates in the Indiana Advanced Nuclear Ready Communities Program.
Advanced Small Modular Reactor Specifications and Cooling Systems
The planned midwestern power installation intends to deploy twelve Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled small modular nuclear reactors. The proprietary modular reactor design remains under ongoing regulatory development and formal licensing review with federal nuclear oversight authorities. The standardized reactor modules can utilize dry air cooling, traditional water cooling, or a hybrid combination of both thermal technologies. Deploying flexible dry and hybrid cooling systems enables reactor operation in arid regions without depleting local community water resources. Engineers designed the compact generation units to scale modular output progressively as computational loads expand across regional infrastructure.
Regional Power Grid Decarbonization and Workforce Projections
Corporate spokespersons indicated that development activities could generate approximately one thousand regional construction jobs during site development. Once fully operational, the nuclear complex is estimated to support one hundred permanent technical and operational roles. Historical energy ventures in Indiana include the unfinished Marble Hill nuclear installation abandoned in 1983 after sinking 2.5 billion dollars. Repurposing legacy fossil-fuel sites enables new generation assets to leverage existing high-voltage transmission interconnects.
Strategic Nuclear Expansion Across Cloud Data Center Infrastructure
Amazon and X-energy established a nationwide partnership objective to commission more than five gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2039. The technology company is securing long-term baseload electricity supplies to power rapid artificial intelligence training and cloud services. Collaborations with regulated utility partners allow hyperscale operators to finance clean energy additions without destabilizing consumer electric grids. That Pacific Northwest project similarly plans to install twelve advanced modular reactors, with physical site construction anticipated toward the end of this decade. The Fairbanks installation represents a pivotal model for utility-backed private corporate financing of advanced small modular reactors in North America.
Amazon plans to purchase the nuclear facility's power under a long-term contract that covers capital and operational expenses for the duration of the agreement.