By Business India Editorial

Amazon has announced that in 2022 it grew its renewable energy capacity by 8.3 gigawatts (GW) through 133 new projects in 11 countries. 

This brings Amazon’s total portfolio to more than 20 GW — that could generate the amount of energy to power 5.3 million US homes — across 401 renewable energy projects in 22 countries. The company’s renewable energy purchases continue to add new wind and solar projects on the grids that power Amazon’s operations, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres, Amazon fulfilment centres, and physical stores around the world.

With these continued investments, Amazon set a corporate record for the most renewable energy announced by a single company in one year. The company remains the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy — a position it’s held since 2020, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. 

Amazon’s continued investment in renewable energy helps to accelerate growth in new regions through innovative deal structures, technologies, and cloud solutions.

These purchases also bring Amazon closer to powering its operations with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025 — five years ahead of its original 2030 target. 

In 2022, the company announced new projects in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and the US, and broke ground in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. 

With 25 new renewable energy projects secured to close out the year, the company now has 401 projects globally, including 164 wind farms and solar farms, and 237 rooftop solar projects on Amazon facilities. Once operational, Amazon’s global renewable energy projects are expected to generate 56,881 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy each year.

“As we continue to launch new renewable energy projects around the world, we’re pleased to be on track to power our operations with 100 per cent renewable energy, five years ahead of our original target. With 133 projects in 11 countries announced in 2022, Amazon had another record year,” said Adam Selipsky, CEO of AWS. 

“These projects highlight the diversity of our renewable energy sources and showcase our ability to bring new technologies to new markets and further reduce the impacts of climate change.”

Amazon has announced 25 new clean energy projects. In India, a third 200 MW wind-solar hybrid project was added to Amazon’s first two wind-solar hybrid projects. Renewable hybrid energy systems can play a key role in helping India accelerate the decarbonisation of power generation, lowering the cost of electricity in the medium term. 

These hybrid energy systems also maximise clean energy use on the grid by combining two technologies with different generation profiles, reducing variability in renewable generation, and improving grid stability. 

Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019, committing to reach net-zero carbon by 2040 —10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. The Pledge now has nearly 400 signatories, including Best Buy, IBM, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Siemens, Unilever, Verizon, and Visa. Amazon continues to transform its transportation network, including electrifying its delivery fleet and sourcing alternatives to fossil fuels — it currently has thousands of electric delivery vehicles from Rivian in more than 100 cities and regions in the US, more than 3,000 electric vans delivering packages to customers in Europe, and several electric vehicle partnerships in APAC. The company is also investing $2 billion in the development of decarbonising services and solutions through The Climate Pledge Fund.