Many companies are trying to shift from old fossil fuel energy to more renewable sources to help the environment in whatever way they can. However, it seems that Amazon is one-upping everyone else by buying up solar and wind energy projects left and right. This is good because shifting to renewable energy sources means fewer carbon emissions and fewer carbon emissions mean less global warming. Which is among the biggest factor of climate change right now.
Amazon’s goal is to shift all of its business activities to renewable energy sources by as soon as 2025. Jeff Bezos, the guy running this multi-billion dollar company, just said yesterday that Amazon was going all-in towards saving the climate. He said that “We’re driving hard to fulfill The Climate Pledge—our commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
He further explained that “Our investments in wind and solar energy in the U.S. and around the world send a signal that investing in green technologies is the right thing to do for the planet and citizens—as well as for the long-term success of businesses of all sizes across all industries everywhere”. According to Jeff, the company has committed to buy around 15 gigawatts of production capacity.
15 gigawatts is enough to power 500,000 homes and all these production capacity will come from 14 new solar and wind projects across Europe and North America. Among the new projects, 11 are in the US which includes solar projects in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. The other three projects include a large solar farm in Canada, Amazon’s own renewable energy project in Finland, and another project in Spain.
The goal is to provide renewable energy for Amazon’s Web Services or AWS data centers, corporate offices, fulfillment centers, and warehouses. According to CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, Abigail Ross Hopper, “Amazon’s commitment to clean energy is highly commendable, and it is the type of investment that we need to see more of to meet the world’s critical energy and climate needs”.
While this is good and all, Amazon is still a long way from its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. According to a 2019 sustainability report, the company had a carbon footprint of around 51.2 million metric tons. So this means that the company needs to make big changes and needs a proper plan to do it. Other companies like Facebook and Google are also buying up renewable energy worldwide.