Amazon says it has broken a clean energy sourcing record, having purchased 8.3 GW of wind and solar power in 2022.
The tech giant today announced that it has secured more renewable energy in 2022 than any other company has purchased in a year, as part of its drive to power its stores, data centers and distribution centers entirely using clean energy by 2025.
Amazon said it backed 133 new projects in 11 countries last year, bringing its total renewable energy portfolio to more than 20 GW and maintaining its position as the world’s largest buyer of renewable energy.
“As we continue to launch new renewable energy projects around the world, we are excited to be on track to power our operations with 100% renewable energy, five years ahead of our original goal,” said said Adam Selipsky, CEO of AWS.
He added that the projects purchased in 2022 highlight “the diversity of our renewable energy sources and show our ability to bring new technologies to new markets and further reduce the impacts of climate change”.
Kyle Harrison, head of sustainability research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, noted that Amazon’s clean energy portfolio rivals that of many power companies.
“Amazon’s clean energy portfolio isn’t just at the top of corporate charts — it’s now also among the top utilities in the world,” he said.
“The fact that it announced a new annual record for clean energy in a year mired by a global energy crisis, supply chain bottlenecks and high interest rates is a testament to its forward planning and its expertise in navigating electricity markets and executing long-term contracts.”
Eleven of the projects Amazon bought in 2022 were in Europe, where it added 372MW of capacity in the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and Finland.
This article was first published on BusinessGreen