Amazon announces 18 new solar projects worldwide, with eight in U.S.
Amazon has announced 18 new utility-scale wind and solar energy projects in the United States, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, to power its properties in those nations.
Overall, the new projects represent 2 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy capacity. When combined with the projects announced earlier this year, Amazon will add 5.6 GW of new renewable energy capacity in 2021. The 5.6 GW of electricity production capacity is up 40 percent from the 4 GW procured in 2020.
These 18 new projects will supply renewable energy for Amazon’s corporate offices, fulfillment centers, and AWS data centers. Once they become fully operational, these new projects will bring Amazon’s total committed renewable electricity production capacity to more than 12 GW and 33,700 gigawatt hours (GWh). In total, the company has 274 global renewable energy projects, including 105 utility-scale wind and solar projects and 169 solar rooftops on facilities and stores worldwide.
Amazon is the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world. The company is well on its way to powering power all operations with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025—five years earlier than the original target of 2030.
“For the second year in a row, Amazon has set new records as it works toward fully powering its operations with renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of schedule,” Miranda Ballentine, CEO of Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), said. “Large-scale clean energy investments like these benefit us all and should be the new normal for industries of all shapes and sizes. They bring good-paying, green jobs to local communities and support progress toward our community’s goal of a 90% carbon-free U.S. electricity system.”
Once all 274 clean energy projects are operational, Amazon estimates that over 13.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions will be avoided each year. That is the equivalent of taking nearly 3 million cars off the road in the United States each year.
“We are moving quickly and deliberately to reduce our carbon emissions and address the climate crisis,” Kara Hurst, vice president of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said. “Significant investments in renewable energy globally are an important step in delivering on The Climate Pledge, our commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Renewable energy projects also bring new investment, green jobs, and advance the decarbonization of the electricity systems in communities around the world.”
Eight of the 18 new projects are in the United States, totaling more than 1 GW of utility-scale solar energy. These include Amazon’s first solar projects in Arizona and Georgia and additional projects in Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. The 300-megawatt (MW) Arizona solar project is paired with 150-MW battery energy storage, enabling the company to align solar generation with periods of the greatest demand, even when the sun is not shining.
Overall, Amazon has enabled more than 6 GW of renewable energy in the United States through 62 projects. Amazon’s total battery storage projects now total 220 MW.
