Amazon has announced 14 new renewable projects in the US, Canada, Finland, and Spain, strengthening its position as the largest corporate buyer of renewables globally.
The new projects bring the company’s total renewable energy investments to 10GW and will supply energy for Amazon’s corporate offices, fulfilment centres, and Amazon Web Services data centres.
The 14 new projects include: 11 new US-based solar plants; a 375MW solar farm in Alberta, Canada that will be the country’s largest when it comes online in 2022; its fifth solar plant in Spain, which will generate 152MW for the grid in 2023; and Amazon’s first project in Finland, a 52MW wind farm.
The US projects see Amazon’s first solar investments in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania, with additions to its portfolio in Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. In total, the tech giant has invested in more than 6GW of renewable energy in the US through 54 projects.
Amazon has set itself the goal of powering 100% of company operations with renewable energy by 2025 – five years ahead of its original 2030 target.
“With an impressive 10GW of renewable energy capacity now in its portfolio, and a path to reach its 100% renewable energy target five years ahead of schedule, Amazon continues to walk the walk when it comes to corporate clean energy leadership,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).
Globally, Amazon now has a 232 renewable energy projects, including 85 utility-scale wind and solar plants and 147 solar rooftop projects.
“Amazon’s commitment to clean energy is highly commendable, and it is the type of investment that we need to see more of to meet the world’s critical energy and climate needs,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)