Amazon to fund 960 MW Indiana SMR project with AEP and X-energy
What happened
American Electric Power (AEP) announced on Oct 19 a Joint Development Agreement with X-energy (Nasdaq: XE) to evaluate a proposed 960-megawatt small modular reactor project in Sullivan County, Indiana, at the former Breed coal station site. The plant would consist of 12 of X-energy's 80-MW Xe-100 reactors, operated by AEP. Amazon will provide milestone-based development capital for feasibility work and intends to purchase the plant's electricity under a long-term power purchase agreement covering the facility's full costs. The project is in the feasibility-study phase and would proceed to construction only on a final investment decision; if built, it would connect to the regional grid and could operate for 60+ years.
Why it matters & what’s next are part of Pro, along with the audio summary.
Start your free 14-day trialWho’s affected
- AMZN (Amazon) — watchlist stock; locks in a pathway to ~1 GW of carbon-free baseload power with cost covered by its PPA, supporting data-center expansion without tariff or fuel-price exposure. AEP — operates the plant with capital protections; limited upside at feasibility stage. XE (X-energy) — second major commercial validation of the Xe-100, strengthening its ~11.5 GW pipeline narrative ahead of deployment. Read-through: SMR/nuclear names broadly, as hyperscaler power procurement signals the build-out pace of AI power capacity.