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Amazon to procure renewable energy from Moray West offshore wind farm
E-commerce giant Amazon has signed a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) with Engie, increasing its share of output from Scotland’s Moray West offshore wind farm to 473 MW, over half the wind farm’s capacity, when the site becomes operational later this year. This is enough energy to power the equivalent of more than 650,000 UK homes.Located in the Moray Firth in the north-east of Scotland, the 882 MW wind farm is being developed by Ocean Winds, a 50:50 joint venture of EDP Renewables and Engie.
Amazon is looking to power all its operations globally with renewable energy by 2025, announcing 39 new renewable energy projects across Europe last year and adding more than 1 GW of clean energy capacity to grids in the region. The company claims its investment in solar and wind projects makes it the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, a position it says it has held since 2021. Amazon now has more than 500 wind and solar projects globally, and once operational they are expected to generate more than 77,000 GWh of clean energy each year.
Lindsay McQuade, Director of Energy, EMEA, Amazon Web Services (AWS), says: ‘Transitioning to carbon-free energy sources is one of the most impactful ways to lower carbon emissions, and is part of our climate pledge commitment to reach net zero carbon across our operations by 2040. We are on track to meet our ambitious goal of powering our global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025; and in 2022, 90% of electricity consumed by Amazon was attributable to renewable energy sources. Projects like Moray West will play a critical role in decarbonising Amazon’s operations and the UK grid.’
Meanwhile, Ocean Winds is planning to have up to 7 GW of wind projects in operation, or under construction, and 5–10 GW under advanced development by 2025. The Moray Firth project, part of the company’s 6 GW portfolio of secured offshore wind farms in the UK, is expected to inject up to £500mn in the local Scottish economy throughout its lifespan, and during construction phases it will create and support more than 1,000 jobs in Scotland, with 70 long-term operational roles.
News details
Countries: UK -
Subjects: Renewables, Offshore wind, Net zero / decarbonisation / energy transition
