Amazon announced 26 new utility-scale wind and solar energy projects on Thursday totaling 3.4 gigawatts (GW) of electricity production capacity, bringing its total investment in renewable energy in 2020 to 35 projects and more than 4 GW of capacity.
These new projects will make Amazon the largest-ever corporate purchaser of renewable energy. They will also help advance Amazon’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions across its business by 2040. Part of that commitment is powering the company’s infrastructure with 100 percent renewable energy, and Amazon is now on a path to achieve this milestone by 2025, five years ahead of the initial 2030 target.
“Amazon is helping fight climate change by moving quickly to power our businesses with renewable energy,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said. “With a total of 127 solar and wind projects, Amazon is now the biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy ever…This is just one of the many steps we’re taking that will help us meet our Climate Pledge.”
The 26 new wind and solar projects are located in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, the U.K. and the United States. In the U.S., Amazon has now enabled wind and solar projects in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. The company has 127 renewable energy projects globally, including 59 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects and 68 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe.
Amazon’s total renewable energy investments to date will supply 6.5 GW of electricity production capacity, enough to power 1.7 million U.S. homes for one year.
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.
To reach its goal, Amazon said it will continue to reduce emissions across its operations by establishing a path to power its operations with 100 percent renewable energy, delivering its Shipment Zero vision to make all shipments net-zero carbon, with 50 percent net-zero carbon by 2030, and purchasing 100,000 electric delivery vehicles.