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Manufacturing NewsTEG DailyNovember 13, 2026

November 13, 2026 · Sullivan County · Story 1 of 5

AEP and Amazon Study 12 Nuclear Reactors in Sullivan County, Indiana

Daniel BurkePublished every day

American Electric Power and Amazon have opened a feasibility study for up to 12 small nuclear reactors, nearly 960 megawatts total, at the retired Breed coal plant site in Sullivan County, with X-energy supplying the reactor design. AEP and Amazon are also discussing a long-term power purchase agreement tying the reactor output directly to Amazon's own electricity needs.

The entire project depends on a single external event: X-energy's sister project in Seadrift, Texas, with Dow Chemical, has to clear NRC licensing first. If that license slips, Indiana has no approved reactor design to build from, and this stays a feasibility study rather than a construction plan. It's also now competing with a rival 6 gigawatt, eight-reactor CANDU proposal from AtkinsRéalis and Hoosier Energy for the same hyperscaler customers. X-energy's own securities filings put the cost of a four-reactor block at $1.66 billion to $2.18 billion, which puts the full 12-reactor build above $5 billion before financing, a number that will eventually show up in an IURC rate case.

Impact
The under-reported detail is sequencing: this Indiana project is explicitly contingent on X-energy's Seadrift, Texas project (with Dow Chemical) securing its NRC license first, if Seadrift slips, Indiana has no licensed reactor design to build from, making this announcement an option on an option, not a construction commitment. It also lands the same week AtkinsRéalis and Hoosier Energy announced a competing 6.0 GW, eight-reactor CANDU proposal for Indiana load, meaning the state's constrained hyperscaler power market now has two rival nuclear bids chasing the same customers. X-energy's own SEC filings put illustrative costs at $1.66-$2.18 billion per four-reactor block, implying the full 12-reactor buildout could top $5 billion before financing, a number regulators and consumer advocates will eventually fight over in a future IURC rate case.
Watch
The licensing outcome at X-energy's Seadrift, Texas site with Dow Chemical, that single external variable determines whether the Indiana project ever reaches a final investment decision.
For the huddle

If AEP's nuclear timeline doesn't deliver power until the mid-2030s while I&M's own forecast shows Indiana peak load nearly doubling by 2030, what's our backup plan for securing capacity in the gap years?

Treat the reactor study as a decade-out bet contingent on a Texas licensing decision, not a near-term capacity fix, and line up your own backup generation or demand management for the next several years regardless of how the Sullivan County project turns out.

Sources

  1. American Electric Power Company (AEP) Eyes Up To 12 Indiana Nuclear Reactors · simplywall.st

Earlier coverage

From the brief, November 13, 2026

  1. AEP and Amazon Study 12 Nuclear Reactors in Sullivan County, Indiana
  2. Autocam Medical Opens $70 Million Warsaw Orthopedic Plant, Hiring Toward 300 Jobs
  3. Oxford Properties Finances $155 Million Rail-Yard Redevelopment in Columbus, Ohio
  4. Purdue and Accenture Scale Smart Manufacturing Training in West Lafayette
  5. Toyota Invests $34 Million in Princeton to Build the Scion KEI-01 Kei Truck

The whole day’s brief →

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