Amazon becomes Europe’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy
Amazon has now become the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy globally, with 206 projects around the world.
Amazon has now become the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy globally, with 206 projects around the world.
Amazon has announced nine new utility-scale wind and solar projects in the US, Canada, Sweden, Spain and the UK. This brings the company’s renewable energy project total to 206 globally, generating 8.5 GW of electricity production capacity. This new announcement has set Amazon to be the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in Europe too, with more than 2.5 GW of renewable energy capacity.
All these projects are putting Amazon on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2025 – five years ahead of its original target. The renewable energy from these projects also helps the company meet its commitment to produce the clean energy equivalent to the electricity used by its Echo devices.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said “Amazon continues to scale up its investments in renewable energy as part of its effort to meet The Climate Pledge, our commitment to be net-zero by 2040.”
The nine new renewable energy sources announced include:
- Amazon’s first solar project paired with energy storage: Based in California’s Imperial Valley, this project generates 100 MW of solar energy, enough to power 28,000 homes a year.
- Amazon’s first renewable project in Canada: An 80 MW solar project based in the County of Newell in Alberta, which will produce over 196,000 MWh of renewable energy once completed.
- The largest corporate renewable energy project in the UK: Amazon’s 350 MW wind farm of the coast of Scotland will be the largest corporate renewable energy deal in the UK to date.
- New projects in the US: Amazon’s first renewable project in Oklahoma is located in Murray County and is a 188 MW wind project.
- Additional investments in Spain and Sweden: Amazon’s latest solar projects are located in Extremadura and Andalucía , adding more than 170MW to the grid. In Sweden, Amazon has a 256 MW onshore wind project.
Hannah Hunt, Impact Director, RE-Source, said “Amazon is a leader in renewable energy buying and is continuously changing the market through continuous innovation and investments in renewable energy. We are thrilled to see Amazon's latest commitments around the world including in Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Long-term investments like these are crucial to companies moving closer to climate neutrality.”
Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) added “We’re thrilled to see that Amazon is following through on its climate commitments and is investing in renewable energy assets across the world. Wall Street, customers, and international businesses are all watching what American companies are doing about climate change, and this type of leadership can have a major impact on the climate crisis.”
Renewable energy investment is just one of the many actions Amazon is taking as part of The Climate Pledge, a commitment to becoming net-zero by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Co-founded in 2019 by Amazon and Global Optimism, The Climate Pledge now have 53 signatories. To reach its goal, Amazon will continue to take real business actions to reduce emissions across its operations, including delivering its Shipment Zero vision to make all shipments net-zero carbon, with 50% net-zero carbon by 2030; purchasing 100,000 electric delivery vehicles; and by investing $2 billion in the development of decarbonising services and solutions.
