Amazon scales renewable energy to fight climate change

This brings Amazon’s total portfolio to more than 20GW – enough to power 5.3 million US homes or 15.3 million European homes – with 401 renewable energy projects in 22 countries.

In 2022, the company announced new projects in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and the United States, and broke ground in Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

With 25 new renewable energy projects secured to close out the year, the company now has 401 projects globally, including 164 wind and solar farms and 237 rooftop solar projects on Amazon facilities. Once fully operational, Amazon’s global renewable energy projects are expected to generate around 56,900 gigawatt-hours of clean energy each year.

CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Adam Selipsky said, “As we continue to launch new renewable energy projects around the world, we are pleased to be on track to power our operations with 100 per cent renewable energy, five years ahead of our original target. With 133 projects in 11 countries announced in 2022, Amazon had another record year.”

“These projects highlight the diversity of our renewable energy sources and showcase our ability to bring new technologies to new markets and further reduce the impacts of climate change,” continued Selipsky.

The company’s renewable energy purchases last year brought it closer to powering its operations with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025.

The company’s renewable energy purchases continue to add new wind and solar projects on the grids that power Amazon’s operations, including AWS data centres, Amazon fulfilment centres, and physical stores around the world.

With these continued investments, Amazon set a new corporate record for the most renewable energy announced by a single company in one year. The company remains the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy – a position it has held since 2020.

In addition to the 108 clean energy projects the company announced in 2022, Amazon is announcing 25 additional clean energy projects. These include 11 new projects in Europe, four in North America, and 10 ten in India, Indonesia, and Japan.

Rapidly scaling renewable energy is one of the most effective strategies to fight climate change. To ensure organisations’ renewable energy purchases have the greatest impact on emission reduction, Amazon recently led the creation of the new Emissions First coalition. This alliance is leading advocacy efforts to modernise the world’s leading carbon-accounting standard, helping to reduce carbon from global electricity grids as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.

“Amidst the market uncertainty in 2022, Amazon led clean energy buyers and doubled-down on its commitment to renewable energy,” said Miranda Ballentine, CEO of the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA).

“Amazon’s commitment to decarbonisation is demonstrated through its leading placement on CEBA’s Deal Tracker Top 10,” Ballentine added.

Sam Kimmins, director of energy at Climate Group and Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC) spokesperson said, “As Asia continues to transition away from coal and gas, these investments by Amazon in wind and solar are further evidence that there is a large and growing corporate renewable electricity demand in this region. We look forward to continuing to work with Amazon and our other ACEC members to rapidly increase the supply of renewables and to achieve our shared ambitions for 100 per cent renewable in the region.”

Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019, committing to reach net-zero carbon by 2040 – 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. The pledge now has nearly 400 signatories, including Best Buy, IBM, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Siemens, Unilever, Verizon, and Visa.

Amazon continues to transform its transportation network, including electrifying its delivery fleet and sourcing alternatives to fossil fuels – it currently has thousands of Rivian electric delivery vehicles in more than 100 cities and regions in the US, more than 3,000 electric vans delivering packages to customers in Europe, and several electric vehicle partnerships in Asia-Pacific. The company is also investing $2 billion in the development of decarbonisation services and solutions through The Climate Pledge Fund.

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