Amazon plans to fund 12 small modular reactors at a former coal plant in Indiana, TechCrunch reports, in a deal that would convert a retired fossil-fuel site into a nuclear power hub.
The project fits a pattern that has emerged over the past several years: hyperscale cloud and AI companies, whose data centers consume ever-larger amounts of electricity, are contracting for nuclear capacity rather than waiting for grid expansion alone. Small modular reactors are the vehicle of choice because they can be sited on existing industrial land — including decommissioned coal plants that already have grid interconnection and transmission infrastructure — and because units can be added incrementally rather than committed as a single multi-gigawatt build.
For Indiana, the announcement reframes a plant's closure as an energy transition rather than an end state: the site's workforce, interconnection rights, and steam and water infrastructure remain usable assets. For Amazon, it is a supply-side answer to a demand curve driven by AI data center growth, joining a set of corporate nuclear deals announced across the US.
Key details to watch include the reactor vendor or vendors, the licensing path with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the total investment and timeline, and whether the electricity is contracted directly for Amazon's own facilities or sold into the regional grid.
Read more: TechCrunch.
