Amazon has announced its 65th and 66th renewable energy projects: a wind farm in Cork, Ireland, and a solar project in Pittsylvania County, Va.
Once complete, the new wind farm will provide 23.2 MW of renewable capacity, with an expected generation of 68,000 MWh of clean energy annually.
Amazon’s solar project will be its seventh in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Once complete, the facility will provide 45 MW of renewable capacity, with an expected generation of 100,000 MWh of clean energy annually.
Both projects, expected to begin producing power in 2020, will supply clean energy for the company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers, which power Amazon and millions of AWS customers globally.
Amazon’s investments in renewable energy were recently recognized in the Solar Energy Industries Association’s 2018 Solar Means Business Report, which ranked Amazon No. 1 in the U.S. for amount of corporate on-site solar installed in 2018, and No. 2 for total amount of solar installed to date. Globally, Amazon now has 66 renewable energy projects – including 51 solar rooftops – that are expected to generate 1,342 MW of renewable capacity and deliver more than 3.9 million MWh of clean energy annually.
“Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon,” says Kara Hurst, director of sustainability at Amazon. “Major investments in renewable energy are a critical step to address our carbon footprint globally. We will continue to invest in these projects and look forward to additional investments this year and beyond.”
“I applaud Amazon for their continued investment in clean and renewable energy projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” says U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va. “This solar energy project in Pittsylvania County will lead to a cleaner environment and more jobs in the community.”
“It’s wonderful to see the announcement of these new projects, which will help bring more renewable energy to the Commonwealth of Virginia, where Amazon has already helped bring significant solar energy projects online,” notes Gov. Ralph Northam, D-Va. “Amazon’s new solar farm in Virginia will create jobs and economic development in rural Virginia and will continue to build upon our role as a leading state for renewable energy in the U.S.”
