Amazon revealed that by the end of January 2023, it had set a new corporate record for the most renewable energy purchased by a single company in a single year.
The company has long invested in green energy and, as of 2020, is the largest single corporate buyer of renewable energy, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report.
Last year, it added 133 new projects to its portfolio, operating in 11 countries with a total capacity of 8.3 gigawatts. This means that last year’s increments alone now account for 41.5% of its 20-gigawatt portfolio.
Amazon Renewable Energy
The tech giant believes these 20 gigawatts of electricity, provided by more than 400 projects in 22 countries, will be enough to power 15.3 million European homes
Investments in 164 wind farms and 237 rooftop photovoltaic projects are intended to support the grids that power a range of operations, including logistics centers, retail stores and AWS data centers.
In addition to building existing portfolios in many countries last year, Amazon also entered new countries with its renewable energy ambitions, including Brazil, India and Indonesia.
Amazon hopes all of this will help it meet its goal of powering its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of its original 2030 goal.
The company believes scaling renewable energy rapidly is one of the most effective ways to combat climate change, and the numbers suggest it’s willing to put its money where its mouth is.
Kyle Harrison, head of sustainability research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said that “Amazon’s clean energy portfolio not only tops the corporate charts – it is now also one of the leading utilities worldwide.” His willingness to continue to act despite the lingering effects of the pandemic and the resulting global economic uncertainty should motivate other companies to do likewise.
Up to this point, Amazon isn’t the only company racing to reduce its carbon footprint. Microsoft announced last month that it would open a new project in South Korea to generate 2.5 gigawatts of solar power to meet its renewable-only goal by 2030.