Amazon’s over 500 solar, wind projects enough to power 7.2 mln U.S. homes

19 / 01 / 2024

By Marwa Nassar - -

Amazon now has more than 500 wind and solar projects globally, and once operational, they are expected to generate more than 77,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy each year, or enough to power 7.2 million U.S. homes.

Amazon invested in more than 100 new solar and wind energy projects in 2023, becoming the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy for the fourth year in a row. Amazon’s investments include the company’s first brownfield project—which will repurpose a previously polluted Maryland coal mine site into a solar farm—as well as Amazon’s first renewable energy project in South Korea.

Since 2020, Amazon has purchased more renewable energy than any other company, according to BloombergNEF and publicly available sources. The projects are moving Amazon closer to having 100% of the electricity powering its operations be attributable to renewable energy sources by 2025. The projects are already helping power Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers, Amazon fulfillment centers, physical stores, and corporate offices, while also providing new sources of clean power to local communities where the projects are located.

Amazon’s solar and wind farms have also helped generate more than $12 billion in estimated economic investment globally from 2014 through 2022, and supported 39,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in 2022 alone, according to a new economic model developed by Amazon.

“Amazon’s investments in solar and wind projects are helping power our operations, while also providing new sources of clean energy to the grid, spurring economic growth, and supporting jobs in the communities where our customers live and work,” said Adam Selipsky, CEO of AWS. “More than 90% of our operations were powered by renewables last year, but we’re not done. We’re focused on continuing to find innovative ways to bring new projects online, address grid constraints, and work with policymakers to mitigate the impacts of climate change, all of which is helping Amazon move closer to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2025.”

“Amazon’s renewable energy investments continue to bring new solar and wind projects to market at a rapid pace and cement the company as a global leader in this space,” said Kyle Harrison, head of sustainability research at BloombergNEF. “Despite supply chain challenges, infrastructure hurdles, and rising prices over the past year, Amazon’s continued renewable commitments demonstrate how a corporation can help accelerate society’s transition to a clean energy future.”

To date, Amazon has expanded its renewables portfolio into 27 countries and more than 20 U.S. states, with new projects in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia so far this year, as well as Canada, Greece, and South Korea. Here are a few of the exciting projects Amazon is working on.