Indiana Signs MOU to Evaluate CANDU Nuclear Deployment: Up to Eight Reactors Totaling 6.0 GW, Governor Cites Affordability and Skilled Jobs
Indiana: AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. announced on October 19 that the company, the State of Indiana and Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore the potential development of a campus of up to eight CANDU nuclear reactors that could provide up to 6.0 GW of new nuclear-powered baseload generation for the state. According to the Indianapolis Star, the announcement came at the conclusion of Purdue University's Global Nuclear Energy Economic Summit, where Governor Mike Braun signed the agreement with the parties.
'Ensuring affordable electricity and high-wage opportunities for Indiana's skilled workforce are top priorities,' Governor Mike Braun said in the announcement. 'By exploring this technology, we're evaluating a path to deliver more affordable power while creating the kind of long-term, skilled jobs that strengthen Hoosier communities.' Joe St. Julian, President, Nuclear, at AtkinsRéalis, said the governor's leadership reflects a practical, forward-looking commitment to meeting growing electricity demand while preserving affordability and enabling economic growth. AtkinsRéalis CEO Ian Edwards said at the announcement that the partnership would reach full capacity over time through eight reactors located in Hoosier Energy's coverage area.
Hoosier Energy is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative that provides wholesale power and services to distribution cooperatives in central and southern Indiana and southeastern Illinois, whose member cooperatives serve more than 700,000 member-consumers. Its President and CEO Donna Walker said the cooperative supports an 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy and is pleased to offer its expertise in early discussions evaluating whether advanced nuclear energy could be an option worth considering. According to a December 2025 report by the Indiana Office of Energy Development, the state's utilities produce about 27 GW of electricity; if the full 6.0 GW were built, it would increase the state's generating capacity by more than 22 percent.
The MOU will facilitate initial discussions to evaluate potential deployment scenarios for CANDU technology in the state. Any potential project timeline will depend on site selection, financing, utility or offtake arrangements, applicable regulatory and licensing activities, environmental review, transmission and interconnection planning, and community and stakeholder engagement. The assessment will cover site selection, commercial structures and power purchase agreements, workforce development and grid integration for a multi-unit program of up to 6.0 GW; it also considers building several smaller gas turbine plants in advance of the nuclear plants to accelerate power deployment, and gas-to-nuclear conversion at retired or retiring generation sites. AtkinsRéalis has initiated pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), building on its June 2026 letter of intent to begin the U.S. licensing process for CANDU technology; the first public NRC meeting was held in August 2026, and the first of seven planned topical reports, covering the quality assurance program, has been submitted.
CANDU is a pressurised heavy-water reactor technology using natural uranium fuel, with more than six decades of operating experience and nearly 1,000 reactor-years of operation globally; 34 CANDU reactors have been built on four continents. The announcement notes that the collaboration remains at the evaluation stage, and any project would depend on further diligence and approvals.
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加拿大 Ontario 省 Pickering 核电站全景，该站8座反应堆均为 CANDU 型，是此次印第安纳州评估引进的同型技术。Mdf 摄，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布，CC BY-SA 3.0。Photo: Panoramic view of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, Canada, whose eight reactors are all CANDU units, the same technology Indiana is evaluating. By Mdf, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
