Amazon has introduced two utility-scale renewable power tasks in Maryland, with the corporate saying it now has invested in almost 80 new wind and solar energy installations this yr.
Among the many new tasks is a photo voltaic farm being constructed on the website of coal mine that operated for greater than a century. That 170-MW challenge, being developed by Aggressive Energy Ventures (CPV), will energy an Amazon Internet Providers (AWS) information heart. Amazon on Nov. 13 stated the power in Garrett County is the corporate’s first renewable power challenge at a brownfield website; it additionally would be the state’s largest photo voltaic farm. CPV, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, stated the photo voltaic farm is anticipated to enter industrial operation in 2025.
Amazon stated it now’s taking energy from 479 wind and photo voltaic tasks worldwide. The websites assist energy AWS information facilities, success facilities, and the corporate’s brick-and-mortar shops. A number of the tasks are also offering electrical energy to the communities the place they’re sited.
World’s Prime Purchaser of Renewable Vitality
BloombergNEF earlier this yr stated Amazon is the world’s largest company purchaser of renewable power, with about 25 GW bought globally. That’s greater than twice the roughly 11 GW of Meta, the proprietor of Fb.
The Amazon Photo voltaic Farm Maryland—CPV Spine, named after close by Spine Mountain, is being constructed on the positioning of the not too long ago closed Arch Coal mine, a website that was mined for 120 years. Mining operations left greater than 45 acres contaminated with coal refuse, which was reclaimed by the state of Maryland.
“Amazon’s investments in photo voltaic and wind tasks are serving to energy our operations, whereas additionally offering new sources of unpolluted power to the grid, spurring financial development, and supporting jobs within the communities the place our clients dwell and work,” stated Adam Selipsky, CEO of AWS, in an organization information replace. “Greater than 90% of our operations have been powered by renewables final yr, however we’re not completed. We’re targeted on persevering with to search out modern methods to deliver new tasks on-line, deal with grid constraints, and work with policymakers to mitigate the impacts of local weather change, all of which helps Amazon transfer nearer to reaching 100% renewable power by 2025.”
Nat Sahlstrom, head of power, water and sustainability for AWS, stated, “It’s thrilling to see a website that was as soon as used to supply coal, a high-carbon fossil gasoline, be repurposed right into a clear power challenge that may assist inject tax income and jobs into the area people.”
“CPV is happy to companion with a number one firm like Amazon to assist it attain its renewable power objectives,” stated Sean Finnerty, government VP of renewable power for CPV. “This challenge is a first-rate instance of the chance we’ve got to decarbonize our economic system whereas repurposing brownfield websites and offering financial advantages and clear power to our host communities.”
Agrivoltaic Mission
The second challenge in Maryland might be inbuilt Kent County. The Amazon Photo voltaic Farm Maryland—Morgnec, which might have as a lot as 45 MW of technology capability, is one in all Amazon’s first agrovoltaic photo voltaic tasks. The set up will use bifacial photo voltaic panels to reap the solar’s power, whereas on the identical time permitting for the land beneath the panels for use for rising crops.
The Morgnec challenge might be constructed on 400 acres close to the Maryland Jap Shore space. The challenge additionally will make the most of sheep to assist management vegetation on the website.
Amazon additionally Monday stated the corporate has added 13 new renewable power tasks within the Asia-Pacific area this yr. The brand new installations embody the corporate’s first such challenge in South Korea. Amazon additionally stated it has ramped up its clear power investments in India, with seven utility-scale renewable power tasks introduced there since September of final yr.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
