The one-time retail revolutionary which is now one of the world’s biggest companies has doubled its renewable energy footprint around the globe over the past year.
Amazon touted 2022 as its biggest yet in procuring clean energy projects, procuring or building some 8.3 GW of wind, solar and other renewables via 133 new projects in 11 countries. Last year’s series of power purchases and renewable investments brings the company’s total to more than 20 GW –enough to power more than 5 million homes—across 22 nations worldwide.
It also helps Amazon retain its crown as the biggest corporate buyer of clean energy contracts around, according to reports.
Now that’s delivery with style for the commercial and industry energy transition.
“As we continue to launch new renewable energy projects around the world, we’re pleased to be on track to power our operations with 100 percent renewable energy five years ahead of our original target,” Adam Selipsky, CEO of AWS (Amazon Web Services), the data services wing of Amazon, said in a statement. “These projects highlight the diversity of our renewable energy resources and showcase our ability to bring new technologies to new markets and further reduce the impacts of climate change.”
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Amazon now believes it can get to 100 percent renewables—which translates to the amount of GWs of procurement, considered either direct or virtual, matching company energy consumption by 2025. Those company-supported renewable projects are expected to generate about 56,881 GWh of low and no-carbon-emitting energy annually.
And it’s not just wind and solar. The renewable diversity, as Selipsky called it, includes an announced willingness to try hydrogen fuel cell transportation and “electrofuels” made up CO2 waste and renewables.
More than 400 renewable energy projects globally hold some tie to Amazon, whether’s long-term power purchase agreements, credits or some form of investment. The renewable energy purchased is getting closer to matching the energy by all of its operations, from AWS data center to fulfillment centers and stores around the world.
In 2022, Amazon announced new projects in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Spain and the U.S. Some projects in Brazil, India and Indonesia could be completed this year or in 2024.
Amazon is followed in the renewable PPA standings by Google, Microsoft, Meta, Target and other entities. Despite these highly publicized efforts, some environmental entities have accused Amazon and others of “greenwashing” their carbon reduction totals by ignoring Scope 3 emission, which is greenhouse gas pollution emitted in the value chain, such as by suppliers and contractors.
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(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 15-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]).
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