Amazon Fully Committed to Renewable Energies

Amazon is adding 37 new renewable energy projects worldwide to reach the company’s goal of 100 per cent renewable energy, five years ahead of its original 2030 target. The projects increase Amazon’s renewable energy capacity from 12.2 gigawatts (GW) to 15.7 GW.

The additional 3.5 GW of clean energy capacity from these new projects extends Amazon’s leadership position as the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy. “We now have 310 wind and solar projects in 19 countries and are working hard to reach our goal of powering our business with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 – five years ahead of our original 2030 target,” said Andy Jassy, Amazons CEO.

Wind farms, solar panels and energy storage

Among the projects announced by Amazon are three new wind farms, 26 solar farms and eight solar installations on the roofs of Amazon buildings around the world. This brings Amazon’s total renewable energy projects to date to more than 310, including 134 wind and solar farms and 176 rooftop solar projects. Once operational, Amazon’s 310 projects are expected to generate 42,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year – enough electricity to power 3.9 million US homes annually. The energy generated by these projects reduces annual carbon emissions by 17.3 million tonnes, equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 3.7 million cars in the US.

Energy storage systems allow Amazon to store the energy generated by its solar projects and use it when solar power is not available. The new projects are a 300-megawatt (MW) solar project coupled with 150 MW of battery storage in Arizona and a 150 MW solar project coupled with 75 MW of battery storage in California. Combined, the two projects double the total capacity of 220 MW combined with energy storage to 445 MW.