Amazon has expanded its renewable energy presence in India with two solar-wind hybrid projects to be developed in partnership with Vibrant Energy, a subsidiary of Macquarie Green Investment Group.
To be located in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, the projects will total 300MW of capacity. Amazon said that this deal represents one of the largest power purchase agreements (PPAs) by a technology company in India to date.
The company also has three solar farms in Rajasthan with a combined capacity of 420MW, which came as part of its 2.7GW global renewables expansion earlier this year.
“We are on a path to powering our operations globally with 100% renewable energy by 2025 and have worked with government and industry stakeholders in India to unlock more corporate renewable energy procurement in the country,” said Abhinav Singh, director – customer fulfilment, supply chain and global specialty fulfilment, Amazon India.
Srinivasan Viswanathan, CEO of Vibrant Energy said: “This collaboration between Vibrant and Amazon will encourage the adoption of renewable energy by corporates in India. We expect India to be one of the earliest markets in the world to deliver renewable energy through similar hybrid projects.”
Last month, PV Tech covered research by Wood Mackenzie that showed record levels of corporate PPAs in the Asia-Pacific region. Solar accounts for 57% of total PPAs in the region, and over 80% in India.
Amazon said that this latest deal supports the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s wind-solar hybrid policy, aiming to encourage hybrid projects to increase grid stability and the reliability of renewable energy. The company referenced research by McKinsey & Company, highlighting the impact of hybrid systems in accelerating India’s energy transition.
Last week, Amazon signed a 600MW PPA with Brookfield Renewables in tandem with committing Amazon Web Services’ cloud technology to Brookfield’s assets.