Amazon powers up three new renewable energy projects
Amazon is investing in solar and wind farms in the U.S. and U.K.
Amazon’s newest renewable energy solar projects in the U.S. will be located in Warren County, North Carolina, and Prince George County, Virginia. Together, they total 215 megawatts (MW) and are expected to generate 500,997 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy annually. This will be Amazon’s second renewable energy project in the state of North Carolina and eighth renewable energy project in the commonwealth of Virginia.
Furthermore, Amazon’s newest renewable energy project in Europe will be the largest corporate wind power purchase agreement (PPA) in the U.K., located on the Kintyre Peninsula, Scotland. Once complete, the new Amazon wind farm will provide 50 megawatts MW of new renewable capacity with expected generation of 168,000 MWh of clean energy annually, enough to power 46,000 U.K. homes.
Once complete, the three new Amazon renewable energy wind and solar projects will provide 265 MW of additional renewable capacity and are expected to begin producing energy in 2021, supplying energy to the company’s Amazon Web Services data centers.
To date, Amazon has launched 18 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects that will generate over 1,600 MW of renewable capacity and deliver more than 4.6 million MWh of clean energy annually – enough to power 368,000 U.S. homes. Amazon has also installed more than 50 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe that generate 98 MW of renewable capacity and deliver 130,000 MWh of clean energy annually.
The e-tail giant is launching these projects as part of its commitment the Climate Pledge, an international agreement to meet the net zero carbon targets of the Paris Agreement by 2040, 10 years ahead of the accord’s goal. As part of its path to reach net zero carbon by 2040, Amazon intends to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030.
“We’ve announced eight projects this year and have more projects on the horizon – and we’re committed to investing in renewable energy as a critical step toward addressing our carbon footprint globally,” said Kara Hurst, director of sustainability, Amazon. “With nearly 70 renewable energy projects around the globe – including 54 solar rooftops – we are making significant progress towards reaching Amazon’s company-wide commitment to reach 100% renewable energy by 2030.”
To track progress toward these goals, Amazon launched a new transparency website to report on its sustainability commitments, initiatives, and performance.