Amazon is funding the development of a proposed 960-megawatt nuclear plant in Indiana and will be the first customer to purchase its power, the companies announced on Monday. Utility company American Electric Power (AEP) is set to operate the plant, while X-energy, which designs small modular nuclear reactors, will supply the reactors.
The new power plant will comprise 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors and will be situated on the site of a demolished coal power plant just south of Terre Haute. This agreement marks the second commercial deal between Amazon and X-energy, and it is reportedly three times larger than their initial agreement announced two years ago.
The reactors are intended to be connected to the public electric grid, with Amazon stating the power would also serve its data centres. The companies have previously indicated plans to build 5 gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity in the U.S. by 2039.
The project's timeline is dependent on X-energy successfully delivering its first power plant at a Dow Chemical plant in Texas. X-energy has not yet broken ground at this site, where its construction permit is reportedly in the final phases of review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.