Indiana, AtkinsRéalis Sign Pact to Study CANDU Campus of Up to 6 GW

The State of Indiana, AtkinsRéalis and Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative signed an agreement Monday, Oct. 19, to examine a CANDU nuclear campus that could add as much as 6 gigawatts of generating capacity in the state.

The concept could include up to eight reactors. The memorandum opens an assessment process but does not require the participants to finance or build a plant. The parties have not named a location, funding plan, electricity buyer or construction timetable.

CANDU is a Canadian design that uses pressurized heavy water, with more than 60 years of operating experience. The review will consider smaller gas turbine facilities that could provide electricity before nuclear units. It will also look at reuse options for power sites that have closed or are nearing retirement. Those options remain part of the evaluation, not construction decisions.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said, “Indiana is building an energy future that prioritizes affordability for Hoosier families and businesses while driving economic growth.”

Any project timing depends on choices about a site, financing, power sales, licensing, environmental review, transmission planning and engagement with surrounding communities. The agreement does not set a construction schedule.

A separate Indiana nuclear proposal is also being assessed. American Electric Power (AEP) and X-energy are studying a project at the former Breed Generating Station in Sullivan County. Its proposed design calls for 12 Xe-100 units rated at 80 megawatts apiece, for a total of 960 megawatts. Amazon is funding development and plans to buy power under a long-term contract if the project advances. Construction would require a final investment decision.

Radiant will develop a Crane microreactor prototype under the Army’s Janus Program after the Navy selected the company for the work. The Department of War set a target to install a microreactor at Crane no later than September 2028. That is an installation target, not a stated date for the start of operations. The planned installation is intended to provide power independently of the commercial grid, and the Navy’s selection of Radiant for Crane is a separate project from the CANDU evaluation.