Amazon has announced the company’s newest renewable energy project in the EU and the US.
The first project will be located in Cork, Ireland, and will be the second Amazon Wind Farm in the Republic of Ireland.
Once complete, the new Amazon Wind Farm will provide 23.2 megawatts (MW) of renewable capacity, with expected generation of 68,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy annually. In the US, the Amazon Solar Farm will be in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. This is expected to generate 100,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy annually.
Both projects are expected to begin producing clean energy in 2020 and will supply clean energy to the company’s Amazon Web Services datacentres, which power Amazon and millions of AWS customers globally.
Additionally, Amazon’s investments in renewable energy were recently recognised in the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) 2018 Solar Means Business Report, which ranked Amazon #1 in the U.S. for amount of corporate on-site solar installed in 2018, and #2 for total amount of solar installed to date. Amazon’s solar projects in the U.S. have offset the CO2 equivalent of more than 200 million miles of truck deliveries. Globally, Amazon has 66 renewable energy projects – including 51 solar rooftops – that are expected to generate 1,342 MW of renewable capacity and deliver more than 3.9 million MWh of clean energy annually.
“Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon,” said Kara Hurst, Director of Sustainability, Amazon. “Major investments in renewable energy are a critical step to address our carbon footprint globally. We will continue to invest in these projects, and look forward to additional investments this year and beyond.”
“Under the Climate Action Plan, we are committing that 70 percent of Ireland’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2030. Industry leadership is key to helping us reach this target,” said Richard Bruton, Ireland’s Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. “This project is another example of AWS’s commitment to renewable projects in Ireland, adding clean energy to the grid, and supporting Ireland’s climate commitments. Construction will begin on this project this year and will start contributing to Ireland’s renewable energy capacity by 2020. We look forward to continuing to work with AWS as we strive to make Ireland a leader in the renewable energy space.”
“I applaud Amazon for their continued investment in clean and renewable energy projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Virginia Senator Mark R. Warner. “This solar energy project in Pittsylvania County will lead to a cleaner environment and more jobs in the community.”
“It’s wonderful to see the announcement of these new projects, which will help bring more renewable energy to the Commonwealth of Virginia where Amazon has already helped bring significant solar energy projects online,” said Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. “Amazon’s new solar farm in Virginia will create jobs and economic development in rural Virginia, and will continue to build upon our role as a leading state for renewable energy in the U.S.”
Beyond investments in wind and solar, Amazon has a long history of commitment to sustainability through innovative programs such as Shipment Zero, Frustration-Free Packaging, Ships in Own Container, investments in the circular economy with the Closed Loop Fund, and numerous other initiatives happening every day by teams across Amazon. Amazon has also implemented the District Energy Project that uses recycled energy to heat and cool more than 3 million square feet of office space. For more information on Amazon’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.amazon.com/sustainability.