Amazon is scaling its renewable energy portfolio by announcing 18 new utility-scale wind and solar energy projects in the U.S., Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, representing 2 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy capacity. Along with projects announced earlier this year, the new projects mean Amazon will add 5.6 GW of new renewable energy capacity in 2021, moving Amazon further down the path to power operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025—five years earlier than the original target of 2030. The 5.6 GW of electricity production capacity procured in 2021 is a 40% increase from the 4 GW procured in 2020.
In total, Amazon has announced 274 global renewable energy projects, including 105 utility-scale wind and solar projects, and 169 solar rooftops on facilities and stores worldwide, making it the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world.
Amazon is wasting no time demonstrating that the company is fully committed to a clean energy future.
Gregory Wetstone
President and CEO of the American Council on Renewable EnergyThese new projects will bring Amazon’s total committed renewable electricity production capacity to more than 12 GW and 33,700 gigawatt hours (GWh) when the projects become fully operational, or the electricity output equivalent to powering more than 3 million U.S. homes for a year.
The projects will supply renewable energy for Amazon’s corporate offices, fulfillment centers, and AWS data centers that support millions of customers globally. They also help meet Amazon’s commitment to produce the clean energy equivalent of the electricity used by every customer's Echo device.
“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,” said Miranda Ballentine, CEO of Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA). “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.”
For the first time, Amazon is also accounting for the carbon emissions it will avoid through its growing renewable energy portfolio. 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—the equivalent of taking nearly 3 million cars off the road in the U.S. each year.
“We are moving quickly and deliberately to reduce our carbon emissions and address the climate crisis,” said Kara Hurst, vice president of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon. “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.”
“Amazon is wasting no time demonstrating that the company is fully committed to a clean energy future,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy. “At COP26, the world agreed that bigger and bolder ambition around global carbon reduction from all sectors is critical. With hundreds of renewable energy projects already underway, Amazon is a model for the level of urgency and action we need from the private sector to combat the climate crisis.”
8 new projects across the U.S.
- Amazon added more than 1 GW of utility-scale solar projects in the U.S., including Amazon’s first solar projects in Arizona and Georgia, and additional projects in Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. In total, Amazon has enabled more than 6 GW of renewable energy in the U.S. through 62 projects.
- Based in Arizona, Amazon’s second solar project paired with energy storage—which includes a 300-megawatt (MW) solar project being paired with 150-MW battery energy storage—enables the company to align solar generation with periods of the greatest demand, even when the sun is not shining. This brings Amazon’s total battery storage projects to 220 MW.
4 new renewable projects in the Nordics
- Amazon added 158 MW through four wind projects in Finland, bringing its total renewable energy portfolio across the Nordics to more than 950 MW.
Additional projects in Italy, Spain, and Northern Ireland
- Amazon’s new solar project in Italy is the company’s third in the country, adding 40 MW on top of the 66 MW already enabled.
- In Spain, Amazon’s new solar projects together add more than 630 MW to the grid.
- A new wind project in Northern Ireland brings Amazon’s portfolio to 245 MW on Ireland’s all-island grid and its total UK portfolio to more than 545 MW of wind energy.
In total, Amazon has enabled more than 3.5 GW of renewable energy in Europe through 34 projects, making Amazon the largest procurer of renewable energy in Europe.
“Amazon’s procurement of 12 GW of renewable energy capacity globally is a strong testament to the company’s commitment to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040,” said Hannah Hunt, impact director at RE-Source, a corporate renewable energy sourcing platform in Europe. “The company’s 10 new renewable energy operations across Europe will benefit communities, bring new green jobs, and help meet our commitments to curb the climate crisis.”
“Sizeable investments in clean energy are needed to meet our collective carbon reduction goals, and Amazon is delivering on that commitment,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “Amazon continues to invest in its clean energy future today, and is now one of the top renewable energy buyers in the world.”
To reach its Climate Pledge commitment, Amazon will continue to reduce emissions across its operations by taking real business actions and establishing a path to power its operations with 100% renewable energy, five years ahead of the company’s original target of 2030. Those actions include delivering its Shipment Zero vision to make all Amazon shipments net-zero carbon, with 50% net-zero carbon by 2030; purchasing 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles; and investing $2 billion in the development of decarbonizing services and solutions through the Climate Pledge Fund.
