Amazon Announces 5 new Solar Projects in China, Australia and US

Amazon has announced 5 new solar energy projects in China, Australia and the US that further support its commitment to reach 100% renewable energy by 2030

Global e-commerce major Amazon has announced five new solar energy projects in China, Australia and the US that further support Amazon’s commitment to reach 80 percent renewable energy by 2024 and 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 (and potentially as early as 2025), as well as to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.

The company’s first renewable energy project in China is a 100 megawatt (MW) solar project in Shandong. Once complete, the project is expected to generate 128,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean energy annually.

The firms’ second renewable energy project in Australia is a 105 MW solar project in New South Wales. This project will have the capacity to generate 250,000 MWh of clean energy each year, which is enough to power the equivalent of 40,000 average Australian homes.

And its newest renewable energy projects in the US include two new projects in Ohio, a 200 MW solar project, and an 80 MW solar project. Additionally, a new 130 MW solar project in Virginia brings the total number of renewable energy projects in the Commonwealth to 12. Once enabled, these three US-based projects have the capacity to power the equivalent of 69,000 average US homes each year.

When complete, the five new Amazon renewable energy projects totaling 615 MW of installed capacity will supply approximately 1.2 million MWh of additional renewable energy to the company’s fulfilment network and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres, which power Amazon and millions of customers globally.

To date, Amazon has announced 31 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects and 60 solar rooftops on fulfilment centres and sort centres around the globe. Together, these projects totaling over 2,900 MW of capacity will deliver more than 7.6 million MWh of renewable energy annually, enough to power 680,000 US homes.

“As a signatory to The Climate Pledge, we’re committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early and reaching net-zero carbon across Amazon by 2040,” said Kara Hurst, Vice President of Sustainability, Amazon. “These five new renewable energy projects are a critical part of our roadmap to reach this goal. In fact, we believe it is possible to reach 100 percent renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of the goals we announced last fall. While this will be challenging, we have a credible plan to get there.”

In March, the firm had announced four new renewable energy – wind and solar power projects in Australia, Spain, Sweden, and the US. Once complete, the four new Amazon renewable energy wind and solar projects will provide almost 300 MW and approximately 840,000 MWh of additional renewable capacity to the grids that supply energy to the company’s AWS data centres, which power Amazon and millions of AWS customers globally.