Dive Brief:
- Online giant Amazon announced yesterday that its Texas wind farm is up and running and is expected to produce more than 1 million MWh each year.
- Amazon has deployed 18 wind and solar projects across the United States and has about three dozen more in the works. Combined, the renewable generation could power 330,000 homes annually.
- Amazon Wind Farm Texas was built, and is owned and operated, by Lincoln Clean Energy.
Dive Insight:
Amazon's largest wind farm to date highlights the commitment of online companies to develop more clean energy resources to power their operations.
Amazon Wind Farm Texas includes more than 100 turbines, each over 300 feet tall. The project was developed by Lincoln Clean Energy, which is an I Squared Capital portfolio company.
Kara Hurst, Amazon’s worldwide director of sustainability, said the more than 50 renewable projects the company is backing "are important steps toward reaching our long-term goal to power our global infrastructure using 100% renewable energy. "
Google's parent company, Alphabet, may be the largest investor in renewables, pursuing all carbon-free sources to power its operations. So far, the company has committed to purchase more than 2.5 GW of renewable energy projects. The company has signed 19 agreements in the United States, Europe and South America. The U.S. corporate power purchase agreement market has grown 60% year over year, according to Alphabet's web site.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon's clean energy investments now exceed 1.2 GW, while Google's are close to 1.9 GW.
Lincoln Clean Energy CEO Declan Flanagan noted that “corporations like Amazon have become a major force in the transition to renewable power, and with their involvement, we look forward to producing power in Scurry County for years to come.”
