GHG Emissions, Commercial, Solar  -  January 21, 2025

Amazon Boosts RE Purchases, Deploys Nuclear, Grid Decarbonization

Tech company Amazon announced it is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy globally for the fifth consecutive year according to Bloomberg NEF.

With over 600 projects worldwide, Amazon is also supporting solar and wind initiatives in regions with polluted grids to help curb emissions. 

 The company has invested in over 40 utility-scale solar and projects across countries with a mix of fossil fuel use and high emissions, including Australia, China, Greece, India, Indonesia, Poland, and South Africa, and states like Louisiana and Mississippi.

“Amazon isn’t just the top corporate purchaser of solar and wind, we’re also prioritizing projects in the locations where they can have the biggest impact on curbing emissions and improving the local environment,” said Amazon Chief Sustainability Officer Kara Hurst according to a statement. 

Building wind and solar projects on polluted grids is known as carbon matching, and according to environmental tech nonprofit WattTime, the world could avoid five gigatons of carbon dioxide by optimizing where wind and solar projects are located. 

In India, where the grid is primarily powered by fossil fuels, Amazon has invested in nine utility-scale solar and wind farms. By locating these projects in India, they have the potential to avoid 55 times more carbon emissions annually than if the projects were located in Sweden, one of the world’s most decarbonized power grids, according to publicly available sources and Amazon calculations.

Additionally, in South Africa, Amazon recently invested in the country’s first renewable project that will sell a portion of its power to small consumers; in Poland, the company invested in three utility-scale wind farms, which are supporting the Polish government’s goal to increase renewable energy use; and in Greece, Amazon signed eight agreements for renewable energy projects, including three new utility-scale wind farms. 

 Grid decarbonization also requires technologies that can deliver more consistent power.  In 2024, Amazon continued accelerating support for energy storage and energy firming technologies and enabled a total of 2.7 gigawatts of related capacity to date. This includes investing in 11 solar and battery storage agreements, including the Baldy Mesa battery storage system, which is monitored through machine learning powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Amazon also signed four nuclear energy agreements, including projects in Pennsylvania and Washington state.

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