Achieving this goal is an important milestone in Amazon's efforts to meet its Climate Pledge commitment of net zero carbon by 2040, says Amazon.

Amazon says that the path to reaching net zero is changing in ways that no one quite anticipated even just a few years ago — driven largely by the increasing demand for generative AI. This will require different sources of energy than Amazon originally projected, so the company needs to be nimble and continue evolving its approach.

While Amazon will continue investing heavily to add substantial amounts of renewable energy to its portfolio, the company says that it is also exploring new carbon-free energy sources that can complement renewables and balance its needs.

Amazon has known from the start that its path to net zero would have many obstacles and need to be adjusted for changes to both its business and the world. Nevertheless, as with all long-term goals, Amazon says that it remains optimistic and focussed on achieving them. 

"Reaching our renewable energy goal is an incredible achievement, and we're proud of the work we've done to get here seven years early. We also know that this is just a moment in time, and our work to decarbonise our operations will not always be the same each year — we'll continue to make progress while also constantly evolving on our path to 2040," says Amazon's vice president of worldwide sustainability Kara Hurst.

"Our teams will remain ambitious and continue to do what is right for our business, our customers and the planet. That's why we'll continue investing in solar and wind projects, while also supporting other forms of carbon-free energy, like nuclear, battery storage and emerging technologies that can help power our operations for decades to come," adds Hurst. 

"By achieving its 100% renewable energy goal, Amazon has made it possible for hundreds of new solar and wind projects to be constructed, bringing new sources of clean energy to grids and communities around the world," says Kyle Harrison, head of sustainability research at BloombergNEF.

"Addressing climate change while balancing society's skyrocketing energy demands is a massive challenge, and Amazon's commitment to clean power demonstrates how a single company can help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy on a global scale," adds Harrison. 

Amazon's Newest Carbon-Free Energy Projects Around the World

Amazon's Renewable Energy Highlights

Since 2019, Amazon has enabled renewable energy projects in 27 countries, says the company. Amazon was the first corporation to enable utility-scale renewable energy projects in:

  • India
  • Greece
  • South Africa
  • Japan, and
  • Indonesia. 

To accomplish this, Amazon says that it worked with policymakers to enable first-of-their-kind policies to help corporations support the construction of new solar and wind projects in these countries.

The use of renewable energy has also been incorporated across Amazon's broader corporate footprint. Amazon says that its HQ2 headquarters in Virginia was designed to run with zero operational carbon emissions. Its electricity consumption is matched by a local solar farm.

In addition to utility-scale projects, Amazon also enables almost 300 on-site solar projects on the rooftops and properties of its fulfilment centres, Whole Foods Market stores and other corporate buildings around the world, says the company. 

According to Amazon, its renewable energy portfolio will help avoid an estimated 27.8-million tons of carbon per year in total once all projects are operational.

Enabling Nearly 1.7GW of Offshore Wind

According to Amazon, it is supporting nearly 1.7GW of capacity across six offshore wind farms in Europe that are expected to produce enough energy to power 1.8 million average European homes.

These projects make Amazon the top corporate purchaser of offshore wind globally.

Offshore wind is able to generate significant amounts of energy due to the consistent flow of ocean breezes and has the potential to meet more than one-third of global power needs, according to the United Nations.

Amazon is also working with developers focussed on optimising wind turbine technology, which helps maximise the amount of electricity produced.

In 2023, the Amazon-Shell HKN Offshore Wind Project (HKN) became the first offshore wind farm enabled by Amazon to begin operations. The project spans two locations off the coast of the Netherlands and boasts more than 750MW of renewable energy capacity, says the company.

Growing Renewable Energy Opportunities in the Asia Pacific Region

Amazon says that it has enabled more than 80 renewable energy projects across the Asia Pacific region to date, including:

  • India
  • Australia 
  • China
  • Indonesia
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • Singapore, and
  • South Korea. 

In Japan, Amazon is announcing its first onshore wind farm and standalone utility-scale solar project — a 33MW wind project located in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, as well as a 9.5MW solar farm located in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Amazon says that it is the largest corporate purchaser in Japan, with a total of 20 projects enabled to date. The projects include 14 onsite solar installations on rooftops of local Amazon buildings and six offsite wind and solar projects.

Amazon has also been part of successful bids for Japan's first offshore wind auctions. 

While there has been a surge in solar projects in Japan, with solar accounting for nearly 10% of Japan's energy mix in 2022, the mountainous terrain in the country covering over 70% of the land has led to limited space to build large utility-scale energy projects.

This is why aggregated solar projects — where many smaller, distributed projects are bundled into one larger power purchase agreement (PPA) — have worked well in Japan, says the company.

In 2021, Amazon adds that it has enabled the country's first utility-scale aggregated solar project to be backed by a corporate PPA.

Since then, Amazon has been engaging with Japanese industry groups and policy stakeholders to help expand corporate renewable energy procurement options in the country.

Launching Mississippi's First Wind Farm

Operations has recently began at Delta Wind, the first utility-scale wind farm in Mississippi, which is generating carbon-free energy to help power Amazon's nearby operations, including future data centres. The project includes some of the tallest land-based wind turbines in the United States, allowing the project to optimise energy production, says the company. 

The project is hosted on 14 000 acres of farmland owned by Abbot Myers, a third-generation farmer who receives revenue from the project's developer, AES. This has helped Myers purchase new farm equipment and expand his rice and soybean crops, adds the company. 

Amazon says that it also recently announced a first-of-its-kind deal with local Mississippi utility company, Entergy, to enable 650MW of new renewable energy projects in the state over the next three years and provide funding for future upgrades to local grid and energy infrastructure over the next two decades.

According to Amazon, it's brand is now poised to enable a total of 1.3GW of new renewable energy projects through a combination of new solar and wind farms being built across the state.

Modernising the Grid to Deliver New Carbon-Free Energy

An important part of Amazon's renewable energy investments includes work to improve the grid, which needs to be modernised in order to deliver energy from new solar, wind and other carbon-free energy projects to users, says the company. 

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world must add or replace 80 million kilometres of grids by 2040 to meet climate targets and more than 1 500GW of renewables projects are waiting in the queue globally.

To help address this, Amazon is engaging with energy regulators to find new ways to support grid modernisation, remove permitting obstacles and deploy grid-enhancing technologies.

Amazon says that it also co-founded the Emissions First Partnership, a coalition of energy purchasers focussed on encouraging renewable energy investments in regions with grids that are primarily fueled by fossil fuel energy sources.

There are teams of Amazonians around the world working on projects like these every day because, with operations as broad and complex as Amazon's, there's no easy way or single path to get to net zero carbon. But Amazon loves taking on big challenges and its proud of the progress it has made so far, concludes the company. 

Individuals are encouraged to read Amazon's full 2023 report here.

For more information, visit www.aboutamazon.com. You can also follow Amazon on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram. 

*Image courtesy of contributor