The addition of 26 new utility-scale wind and solar projects in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, and the US bring Amazon’s total number of renewable energy projects to 127. The company’s total renewable energy investments to date will supply 6.5 GW of electricity production capacity — enough to power 1.7 million US homes for one year
The projects totalling 3.4 GW of electricity production capacity, bringing Amazon’s total investment in renewable energy in 2020 to 35 projects and more than four GW of capacity, the largest corporate investment in renewable energy in a single year.
These projects will supply renewable energy for Amazon’s corporate offices, fulfilment centres, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres that support millions of customers globally. They will also help advance Amazon’s goal to reach net zero carbon emissions across its business by 2040. Part of that commitment is powering Amazon’s infrastructure with 100 per cent renewable energy, and the company is now on a path to achieve this milestone by 2025, five years ahead of the initial 2030 target.
“Amazon is helping fight climate change by moving quickly to power our businesses with renewable energy,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said. “With a total of 127 solar and wind projects, Amazon is now the biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy ever. We are on a path to running 100 per cent of our business on renewable energy by 2025 — five years ahead of our original target of 2030. This is just one of the many steps we are taking that will help us meet our Climate Pledge. I could not be prouder of all the teams across Amazon that continue to work hard, smart, and fast to get these projects up and running.”
The new projects are Amazon’s first in France, Germany, Italy, and South Africa. In the US, Amazon has now enabled wind and solar projects in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. Amazon has a total of 127 renewable energy projects globally, including 59 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects and 68 solar rooftops on fulfilment centres and sort centres around the globe.
“Private sector investment is essential to scaling renewable energy at the pace necessary to drive global climate action,” Miranda Ballentine, CEO of Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), said. “The US-based projects alone make Amazon’s announcement 270 per cent larger than the largest corporate procurement announcement from a single off taker to date and showcase the company’s leadership and commitment to a clean and prosperous energy future.”
Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) was quick to applaud Amazon for its unprecedented contribution to the renewable energy transition this year. “With an impressive 35 major new renewable projects in 2020, Amazon deserves tremendous credit for its leadership in the global shift to renewable energy,” he said. “Procuring more than 4,000 MW of new renewable power in a single year is an incredible achievement, and it marks big progress toward Amazon’s goal of being powered by 100 per cent renewable power. We are immensely grateful to Amazon for their efforts to help us stay within shouting distance of the greenhouse gas emission reductions scientists say are needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,”
Last year, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement ten years early and be net zero carbon by 2040. The pledge now has 31 signatories, including Unilever, Verizon, Siemens, Microsoft, and Best Buy. To reach its goal, Amazon will continue to reduce emissions across its operations by establishing a path to power its operations with 100 per cent renewable energy, five years ahead of the company’s initial target of 2030; delivering its Shipment Zero vision to make all shipments net zero carbon, with 50 per cent net-zero carbon by 2030; and purchasing 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles.
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