Amazon announced this week that its next two renewable energy projects will be in Ireland and the US. The iconic brand’s 65th and 66th renewable energy projects are scheduled to produce power by 2020, adding further momentum to the company’s ambitions to address its carbon footprint.
“Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon,” said Kara Hurst, Director of Sustainability, 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.”
The Amazon wind farm in Cork, Ireland, will have an ‘expected generation of 68,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy annually; while the solar farm in Pittsylvania County, Virginia is ‘expected to generate 100,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy annually’. They will both supply energy to Amazon Web Services (AWS) datacenters and customers worldwide.
“Under the Climate Action Plan, we are committing that 70% of Ireland’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2030. Industry leadership is key to helping us reach this target,” said Richard Bruton, Ireland’s Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. “This project is another example of AWS’s commitment to renewable projects in Ireland, adding clean energy to the grid, and supporting Ireland’s climate commitments. Construction will begin on this project this year and will start contributing to Ireland’s renewable energy capacity by 2020. We look forward to continuing to work with AWS as we strive to make Ireland a leader in the renewable energy space.”
