Amazon has invested in another tranche of renewable energy projects, adding a further 2.7 gigawatts of energy to its portfolio

The company this week announced renewable energy investments with 71 new renewable energy projects globally.

The announcement includes Amazon’s first renewable energy project in South America—a solar farm in Brazil—and its first solar farms in India and Poland. New projects include:

• In India, the company is adding three solar projects in Rajasthan, representing 420MW
• In Europe, Amazon is launching its first rooftop solar projects in France and Austria, and its first solar farm in Poland.
• In North America, the company is adding 1GW of clean energy capacity across the Southeastern US, including the company’s first two renewable energy projects in Louisiana.
• In South America, Amazon is announcing its first renewable energy project, which is a 122 MW solar farm in Brazil.

Once fully operational, Amazon’s global renewable energy portfolio will generate 50,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy.

“We are bringing new wind and solar projects online to power our offices, fulfillment centers, data centers, and stores, which collectively serve millions of customers globally, and we are on a path to reach 100% renewable energy across our entire business by 2025,” said Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services. “Around the world, countries are looking to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, and continued investments like ours can help accelerate their journey as we all work together to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

Already the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, Amazon now has a total of 379 renewable energy projects across 21 countries – including 154 wind and solar farms and 225 rooftop solar projects – representing 18.5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity.

By the end of 2021, the company said it had reached 85 percent renewable energy across its business. It aims to reach 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business by 2025.

“With its landmark solar projects announced in Poland and France, Amazon has taken crucial steps towards its net-zero pledge, while supporting Europe’s own climate goals,” said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, founding partner of the RE-Source Platform. “As Europe faces skyrocketing energy prices, solar and renewable energy deals will strengthen Amazon’s strategic resilience—we hope to see more companies follow Amazon’s lead.”

However, as DCD has previously noted, not all investments in renewable energy are equal. Many PPAs often operate on a "pay-as-produced" basis, under which the customer pays for all the energy from the renewable source, but uses power from a mix of sources, including fossil fuel. To completely offset their energy use, companies should look instead to 24x7 matching PPAs.

A recent report from LevelTen Energy said that solar and wind PPA prices in Europe and the US are increasing, driven by supply chain issues, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. Bloomberg notes news PPAs in Europe are lagging this year as a result.