Amazon Crowned As Leading Renewable Energy Corporate Buyer in India

Custom-made Vehicles from Mahindra for Amazon's EV Fleet Program

IT giant Amazon is now the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in India. The firm sealed this position soon after it launched a 198 MW wind farm in Osmanabad, Maharashtra. The said project is the firm’s 50th renewable energy project in India, which has helped it take its capacity beyond 1.1 GW in India. As per Bloomberg New Energy Finance, this is what cements Amazon’s position as the top corporate buyer of renewable energy in the country.

The 198 MW project is a result of a PPA between Amazon and Vibrant Energy, a corporate renewable energy solutions provider. This is Vibrant’s third power purchase agreement with Amazon.

Last year, Amazon had announced its partnership with Vibrant for its first two wind-solar hybrid projects in India. With the addition of the said wind project, Amazon has reached a milestone of more than 1.1 GW of renewable energy capacity in India, making it the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in India.

The wind and solar farms set up by the IT leader in India between 2014 to 2022 have helped generate about INR 2,885 crore in economic investment for Indian communities. Additionally, a sum of INR 719 crore of the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP) can be attributed to the projects by Amazon. In their wake, these projects have helped chalk out over 20,600 local full-time equivalent jobs in 2022 alone.

“Rapidly scaling renewable energy is one of the most effective strategies to address climate change, and these efforts can be especially impactful in India, where the country’s leaders are focused on transitioning the country away from fossil fuels,” remarked Abhinav Singh, Vice President of Operations at Amazon India. He further maintained that Amazon’s wind and solar projects will aid the firm power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.

“We welcome Amazon’s renewable energy investments in India as it encourages more corporates to purchase renewable energy in the country, accelerating our path to meet our 2030 goals,” opined Dinesh Dayanand Jagdale, Joint Secretary of The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, while adding, “India has already delivered on its Nationally Determined Contributions target of 40% capacity from renewable sources ahead of schedule. We are also leading towards becoming one of the largest solar module manufacturers in the world with one of the largest wind energy manufacturing ecosystems as well. India remains focused on achieving the NDC goal of 50% capacity from renewable energy, and we are pleased to see our renewable energy sector is enabling corporates like Amazon to meet their own 100% renewable energy goals in the country.”

Amazon’s portfolio in India 

The Osmanabad wind farm is the seventh utility-scale renewable energy project by Amazon in the country in the past year. The firm has 43 rooftop solar projects in its portfolio to help power its local Amazon units.

In addition to the recently set up wind farm in Maharashtra, Amazon boasts three solar farms located in the state of Rajasthan. These include a 210 MW project developed by ReNew , a 100 MW project developed by local developer Amp Energy India, and a 110 MW project  developed by Brookfield Renewable. Combined, these solar farms have the capacity to generate 1,076,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy per year.

The 210 MW project is among the largest solar corporate power purchase agreements (PPA) by a technology firm in India.

CEO Andy Jassy revealed that the firm has set sights on investing INR 2,14,942 crore in India by 2030.