AEP携手X-energy与亚马逊 评估在印第安纳州沙利文县建960兆瓦核电项目
美国电力公司（AEP）与核能公司 X-energy 10月19日宣布达成联合开发协议，评估在印第安纳州沙利文县（Sullivan County）建设一座960兆瓦先进核电站的可行性；亚马逊将为项目提供开发资金。
拟建电站选址于已退役的 Breed 燃煤电厂旧址，计划采用12座 X-energy 的 Xe-100 小型模块化反应堆，每座发电80兆瓦，合计960兆瓦。项目目前仍处于可行性研究阶段，须待最终投资决定作出后才能动工。
按协议，若项目建成投运，亚马逊计划通过长期购电协议购买电站的全部电力，并由该协议覆盖电站的建设与运营成本。AEP 董事长、总裁兼首席执行官 Bill Fehrman 表示，与亚马逊和 X-energy 的协议将提供一切必要的资本保护与财务保障，避免项目成本转嫁给现有电力用户。
三家公司表示，这是 X-energy 与亚马逊合作推动全美新增核电容量计划下的第二个商业部署项目，目标是在2039年前为美国电网带来超过5吉瓦的新核电容量。若印第安纳项目建成，预计可为该州及周边地区电网提供60年以上的清洁基荷电力，并创造就业与地方税收。印第安纳州州长 Mike Braun 表示，该项目有助于强化该州电网，并使印第安纳州成为先进核能领域的全国领先者。
AEP, X-energy and Amazon to Evaluate 960 MW Nuclear Project in Sullivan County, Indiana
American Electric Power (AEP) and nuclear developer X-energy announced a joint development agreement on October 19 to advance feasibility work for a proposed 960-megawatt advanced nuclear plant in Sullivan County, Indiana, with Amazon providing project development funding.
The companies will evaluate a 12-unit plant using X-energy's Xe-100 small modular reactors, each rated at 80 megawatts, near the former site of the retired Breed Generating Station, an AEP-owned brownfield site. The project remains at the feasibility stage and would proceed to construction only after a final investment decision.
If the plant is built, Amazon intends to purchase its electricity under a long-term contract covering the costs of the facility and its operations, an arrangement AEP said is designed to protect existing utility customers from project costs. AEP Chairman, President and CEO Bill Fehrman said the agreements with Amazon and X-energy will provide all necessary capital protections and financial safeguards the company considers essential for any potential nuclear project.
The Indiana proposal is the second commercial deployment under X-energy and Amazon's collaboration aimed at bringing more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity to the U.S. grid by 2039. If completed, the plant is expected to supply clean baseload power to the regional grid for more than 60 years, while creating jobs and local tax revenue. Indiana Governor Mike Braun said the project could help strengthen the state's grid and position Indiana as a national leader in advanced nuclear energy.
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：核电站冷却塔（示意图，非项目现场）。照片：Wikimedia Commons。A nuclear power plant cooling tower (illustrative file photo). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
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