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Amazon to add 2.7 GW of clean energy capacity to its operations around the world

Amazon is adding 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy capacity across 71 new renewable energy projects, the company announced this week.

This initiative includes the company’s first renewable energy project in South America—a solar farm in Brazil. It also includes the first solar farms in both India and Poland. Once the new sites are operational, Amazon’s global renewable energy portfolio will generate 50,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean energy. That is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power 4.6 million U.S. homes each year.

“We are bringing new wind and solar projects online to power our offices, fulfillment centers, data centers, and stores, which collectively serve millions of customers globally, and we are on a path to reach 100% renewable energy across our entire business by 2025,” Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services, said. “Around the world, countries are looking to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, and continued investments like ours can help accelerate their journey as we all work together to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

Amazon is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world. It now has a total of 379 renewable energy projects across 21 countries, including 154 wind and solar farms and 225 rooftop solar projects. This represents 18.5 GW of renewable energy capacity. By the end of 2021, the company had reached 85 percent renewable energy across its business.

Among the new additions to its renewable portfolio, Amazon is launching its first three large-scale projects in India. All three are in Rajasthan, representing 420 megawatts (MW) of clean energy capacity. In the Asia-Pacific region, the company now has a total of 57 renewable energy projects.

Amazon now has 117 renewable energy projects in Europe, including its first rooftop solar projects in France and Austria and its first solar farm in Poland. “With its landmark solar projects announced in Poland and France, Amazon has taken crucial steps towards its net-zero pledge while supporting Europe’s own climate goals,” Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, founding partner of the RE-Source Platform, said.

In North America, Amazon is adding 1 GW of clean energy capacity across the Southeastern United States, including the company’s first two renewable energy projects in Louisiana. Overall, Amazon has 202 projects renewable projects across North America.

As mentioned, Amazon is also announcing its first renewable energy project in South America, a 122 MW solar farm in Brazil. The project will create 850 jobs during the construction phase, with an additional 30 permanent jobs once the project becomes operational.

In addition, Amazon is working through the Clean Energy Buyers Institute’s (CEBI) Beyond the Megawatt initiative to ensure the industry is maximizing the economic, environmental, and social impact of energy procurement.

“As a key leader in the CEBA community, Amazon continues to demonstrate that when it commits to a vision, it drives a pace and scale that’s a new bar to follow,” Miranda Ballentine, CEO of Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) and Clean Energy Buyers Institute (CEBI), said. “Amazon also continues to be a leader in not only deploying today’s clean energy procurement tools at scale but also in leading its community of peers and partners in developing tomorrow’s clean energy solutions—whether that’s focusing on ensuring renewables have sustainable supply chains or expanding the impact of clean energy through next-generation procurement tools.”

Dave Kovaleski

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