Amazon now biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy: Bezos

The addition of 26 new wind and solar projects in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, and the US brings Amazon's total number of renewable energy projects to 127, the company said on Thursday.

San Francisco: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has said that his company has become the largest-ever corporate purchaser of renewable energy after it added 26 new wind and solar energy projects totaling 3.4 gigawatts (GW) of electricity production capacity.

The addition of 26 new wind and solar projects in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, and the US brings Amazon’s total number of renewable energy projects to 127, the company said on Thursday.

The company’s total renewable energy investments to date will supply 6.5 GW of electricity production capacity — enough to power 1.7 million US homes for one year.

That surpasses 5.5 GW of renewable energy projects under contract that Google claimed to have till last year.

“With a total of 127 solar and wind projects, Amazon is now the biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy ever,” Bezos said in a statement.

“We are on a path to running 100 per cent of our business on renewable energy by 2025 — five years ahead of our original target of 2030. This is just one of the many steps we’re taking that will help us meet our Climate Pledge.”

Last year, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040.

The pledge now has 31 signatories, including Unilever, Verizon, Siemens, Microsoft, and Best Buy.

Amazon’s total investment in renewable energy in 2020 reached 35 projects and more than 4 GW of capacity — the largest corporate investment in renewable energy in a single year.

Amazon’s investments in wind and solar projects will supply renewable energy for the company’s corporate offices, fulfillment centres, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres.

They will also help advance Amazon’s goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its business by 2040, the company said.