Tech giant Amazon has reportedly become the largest-ever corporate purchaser of renewable energy after the company’s Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos updated on adding 26 more wind and solar energy projects to its kitty.
With a cumulative 3.4 gigawatts (GW) of electricity production capacity, the 26 newly added projects spread across the UK, the US, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa and Sweden take the total tally of Amazon’s renewable energy projects to 127.
Amazon’s total renewable energy investments to date can supply 6.5 GW of electricity production capacity, enough to power 1.7 million US homes for one year. The tech giant’s newly added capacity has enabled it to surpass Google’s 5.5 GW of renewable energy projects which it 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,” the Amazon CEO remarked.
“We are on a path to running 100 percent 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,” Mr. Bezos added.
Amazon united with Global Optimism last year to establish The Climate Pledge, an initiative to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and become net-zero carbon by 2040. With 13 more heavyweights committing to the cause, the initiative has 31 signatories such as Unilever, Verizon, Siemens, Microsoft, and Best Buy.
Amazon’s 2020 renewable energy investment consisting of 35 projects with a combined capacity of 4 GW was the largest corporate investment in renewable energy in a single year.
The tech giant’s investments in wind and solar projects will supply renewable energy for the company’s corporate offices, fulfillment centers, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers while enabling it to attain net-zero carbon emissions across its business by 2040.
