Amazon Signs 1.5GW Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreements in the US and Europe

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Bloomberg reported on the 23rd (local time) that Amazon has signed a total of 14 new renewable energy purchase agreements in Spain, Finland, Canada, and the United States.

With these 14 new purchase agreements, the amount of electricity Amazon obtains from renewable energy reaches 1.5GW (gigawatts). Including existing projects, the total electricity from renewable energy is expected to exceed 10GW.

Among the 14 newly announced renewable energy projects by Amazon, 11 are being carried out in the United States. Amazon is already operating 43 renewable energy projects in the U.S. Amazon stated that it will expand project scales in Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, and will launch its first solar energy projects in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

Through a total of 54 projects, Amazon will obtain over 6GW of renewable energy electricity in the United States.

In Spain and Canada, one solar energy project each will be added. Amazon is already operating 4 solar energy projects in Spain and 1 in Canada. An additional 152MW (megawatts) of power will be added in Spain and 375MW in Canada. If the new project in Spain begins operation in 2023, Amazon's renewable energy capacity in Spain will exceed 520MW. In Canada, Amazon plans to add a solar energy project in Alberta.

In Finland, Amazon plans to pursue a 52MW wind power project. This is Amazon's first renewable energy project in Finland.

Amazon stated that these new renewable energy projects will help achieve the goal of obtaining 100% of its required electricity from renewable energy by 2025.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (NEF) analysis, Amazon is the company with the largest renewable energy purchase plans worldwide. With these new renewable energy projects, Amazon is expected to further solidify its position as the company using the most renewable energy in Europe and to become the largest renewable energy user in the United States as well.

According to Bloomberg NEF, U.S. big tech companies, including Amazon, are leading the expansion of renewable energy generation. Among the six companies with the largest renewable energy purchase plans, four are U.S. big tech companies. Besides Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have announced large-scale renewable energy usage plans. The other two companies among the six are Total and AT&T. The renewable energy capacity promised for purchase by these six companies amounts to 25.7GW, accounting for 30% of the total.

Data centers used by big tech companies consume particularly large amounts of electricity, increasing their demand for renewable energy. Facebook's electricity usage last year increased by 39% compared to 2019. Facebook explained that as electricity usage continues to rise, it has no choice but to increase renewable energy purchases. Microsoft also announced plans to reveal one of the world's largest renewable energy purchase plans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.