Global e-commerce giant, Amazon has announced its first renewable energy project in two leading APAC countries to further support its commitment to reach 80 per cent renewable energy by 2024.
Amazon has pledged its first renewable energy project in China and second in Australia on May 21.
The projects will supply renewable energy for the fulfillment centres and AWS data centers that support millions of customers globally.
Globally, Amazon has 91 renewable energy projects that have the capacity to generate over 2,900 MW and deliver more than 7.6 million MWh of energy annually, further supporting the Company’s Climate Pledge commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early and reach net zero carbon by 2040.
Amazon’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.
Amazon’s 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.
Amazon’s newest renewable energy projects in the U.S. include two new projects in Ohio and one in Virginia, bringing the total number of renewable energy projects in the Commonwealth to 12.
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 for the company’s fulfillment network and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers.
To date, Amazon has announced 31 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects and 60 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe.
Kara Hurst, Vice President of Sustainability, Amazon, said these five new renewable energy projects are a critical part of its roadmap to reach the company’s sustainability goals.
“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,” she said.
“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 per cent 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.”
Other sustainability initiatives by Amazon include Shipment Zero – Amazon’s vision to make all shipments net zero carbon, with 50 per cent net zero carbon by 2030; sustainable packaging initiatives like Frustration-Free Packaging and Ship in Own Container, which have reduced packaging waste by 25 per cent since 2015; renewable energy programs, and investments in the circular economy with the Closed Loop Fund.