AEP, X-energy Study 960 MW Xe-100 Plant in Indiana With Amazon Funding

American Electric Power (AEP) and X-energy are studying an Indiana nuclear plant of 12 Xe-100 reactors, 960 MW in AEP's count, at the former Breed coal site in Sullivan County, under a joint development agreement announced Oct. 19, 2026.

Amazon is providing development funding under a separate agreement and intends to buy the power. Voltgrid covered the signing on Oct. 19 only as a news story; this project file follows ahead of Amazon's third-quarter results and call on Oct. 29, 2026, the company's first earnings call since the agreement, one of the dated events this week.

For Amazon, the plant would be what its vice president Josh Weissman described as "nearly a gigawatt of carbon-free power for the regional grid" that the companies are "looking to develop", in a state where regulators approved large-load interconnection rules last year, accepting a pact offered by Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), Amazon Data Services, Google, Microsoft and other parties, Utility Dive reported. For now it is a study. AEP said construction depends on a final investment decision, and no date for that decision, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) application or first power has been announced. ANS Nuclear Newswire noted that details beyond the design and the site are minimal. If built, the plant would be Indiana's first commercial nuclear generation, ANS said.

The Xe-100 Reactor and Its TRISO Fuel

The Xe-100 is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR): it cools its core with helium instead of water, and its fuel is TRISO, uranium kernels coated in layers of carbon and ceramic that, the US Department of Energy says, let the fuel withstand extreme temperatures without melting. X-energy rates each module at 80 MWe. AEP said the initial project would group the 12 units in blocks of four, and AEP itself gives the 960 MW total. Amazon added that Xe-100 plants can use air-cooled condensers, water cooling or a hybrid, depending on site conditions.

The fuel is the long-lead item. World Nuclear News reported that high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) is the main feedstock for X-energy's TRISO-X fuel, and that TRISO-X received a 40-year NRC licence for special nuclear material in February. X-energy has signed long-term HALEU enrichment agreements with Centrus Energy and General Matter, ANS reported in August. None of the Oct. 19 releases says how fuel for 12 units would be supplied.

What Amazon, AEP and X-energy Have Signed

Two agreements are signed. The first is the joint development agreement between AEP and X-energy to evaluate feasibility. The second is a separate funding agreement under which Amazon supports development; X-energy calls it milestone-based development capital and did not disclose the amount. The power purchase is an intention, not a contract: AEP said Amazon intends to buy the output under a long-term contract covering the facility's costs and operations for its duration. The term, price and volume were not disclosed.

The releases also do not say who would own or operate the plant. AEP's release names neither; it says the project combines AEP's "power generation and nuclear operating expertise". Amazon's page calls AEP and its I&M unit, which have run a nuclear plant for more than 50 years, "an ideal facility operator", and X-energy says the site is AEP-owned brownfield. POWER Magazine listed the capital cost and ownership structure among the details not yet disclosed. AEP chief executive Bill Fehrman said the agreements give the "capital protections and financial safeguards" AEP has said any nuclear project needs.

Amazon's tie to X-energy predates the site. Its page says it led X-energy's 2024 Series C-1 round, which "ultimately closed at $700 million". X-energy's own release of Oct. 16, 2024 announced the Series C-1 at approximately $500 million, anchored by Amazon. X-energy's release of Nov. 24, 2025 announced a separate Series D of approximately $700 million, led by Jane Street; it does not name Amazon among the investors, and Amazon's page does not mention that round.

NRC Licensing and Timeline for Xe-100 Plants

The project is at the feasibility stage, and no NRC application has been announced. The nearest benchmark is X-energy's first plant, four Xe-100s for Dow on the Texas Gulf Coast. The NRC's project page shows the application tendered March 31, 2025, docketed May 12, 2025, an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact issued May 18, 2026, and a final safety evaluation targeted for November 2026, with the hearing and permit decision still undated. X-energy chief executive Clay Sell said in August that a permit decision was likely in the first half of 2027, ANS reported. Amazon's first X-energy project, Energy Northwest's Cascade facility in Washington, has not filed yet; Sell expected that application in the first half of 2027. Indiana sits behind both.

What the NRC's Construction Permit Steps Mean

A construction permit is the NRC's first approval for a new US reactor, and it lets the holder build the plant but not operate it. Before the permit, the application is tendered, accepted for review (docketed) and examined in a staff safety evaluation. On the NRC's Long Mott page, docketing came on May 12, 2025, the final safety evaluation is targeted for November 2026, and the hearing and permit decision are still to be determined.

A final safety evaluation is therefore a staff finding, not a permit, and running the reactor needs a separate operating authorization. For Indiana, where AEP, X-energy and Amazon are at the feasibility stage and no NRC application has been announced, none of these steps has begun, and Long Mott's dates are the nearest reference for how long they take.

What It Means for Amazon and Indiana's Grid

Amazon calls Indiana the second project under its goal with X-energy of more than 5 GW of new US nuclear capacity by 2039, after Cascade. That goal spans future projects; it is not capacity under contract. At Cascade, POWER reported, Amazon holds rights to buy power from a first 320 MW block, while its stated intent in Indiana covers the whole proposed 960 MW. That firmness differs from Amazon's 20-year Constellation contract at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, announced Sept. 30, which is a signed purchase, according to Utility Dive.

The need is local. Utility Dive, citing the state regulators' large-load decision, reported that I&M expects Indiana peak load to exceed 7,000 MW by 2030, up from 2,800 MW. Amazon says the output would serve both the regional grid and its data centers, and Weissman said Amazon would pay its full costs without passing them to others. The releases set no first-power date to set against that 2030 load forecast.

The state has a second, unrelated proposal. Indiana, Hoosier Energy and AtkinsRéalis signed a memorandum of understanding to explore up to eight CANDU reactors and up to 6 GW, with the evaluation also considering gas plants ahead of the nuclear units, ANS reported. It was announced the same Monday, has no timeline, and is not part of the AEP agreement.

What to Watch After the Indiana Study

Oct. 29, 2026: Amazon's third-quarter results and call, at 5:00 p.m. ET, for any remarks on capital spending or the nuclear program. November 2026: the NRC's target for the final safety evaluation of Dow's Long Mott plant, the first Xe-100 permit test. First half of 2027: X-energy's expected Cascade application. For Indiana itself, the next steps are the feasibility results, a signed power contract and a final investment decision, none of them dated.