Amazon Invests in Over 100 New Solar and Wind Projects Over Past Year
Amazon announced that it invested in more than 100 new solar and wind energy projects in 2023, claiming the title of largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy for the fourth consecutive year, and bringing the company’s pipeline of clean energy capacity to greater than 77,000 GWh per year, roughly equivalent to the power needs of 7.2 million homes.
According to Amazon, the new projects will move the company closer to its expectation to have 100% of the electricity powering its operations be attributable to renewable energy sources by 2025, ahead of its original 2030 target. The company said that more than 90% of its operations were powered by renewables in 2023.
Over the past year, Amazon has expanded its renewables portfolio into 27 countries and more than 20 U.S. states, with new projects in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia as well as Canada and Brazil. The company’s 2023 European renewable energy investments include projects in nine countries, with 15 rooftop solar installations on Amazon facilities across Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK, and 24 utility-scale wind and solar projects in Finland, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The company also added 13 projects in the Asia Pacific region over 2023, including eight utility-scale wind and solar projects and its first in South Korea. In China, Amazon announced two new wind farms; Amazon Wind Farm China–Daqing, which began operating in March, and Amazon Wind Farm China–Bobai.
Overall, Amazon said that it now has more than 500 wind and solar projects globally.
Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS) said:
“Amazon’s investments in solar and wind projects are helping power our operations, while also providing new sources of clean energy to the grid, spurring economic growth, and supporting jobs in the communities where our customers live and work.”