Solar

Amazon’s renewables investments contributed $5.4B to global GDP since 2014, company says

Amazon’s renewables investments contributed $5.4B to global GDP since 2014, company says
Yellowbud Solar Farm (Courtesy: Amazon)

Amazon announced it has built the first economic analysis to identify the impact of its renewable energy projects at the global, U.S., and state levels.

Globally, from 2014 through 2022, Amazon’s wind and solar farms helped generate $12.6 billion in investments and contributed more than $5.4 billion in global GDP, the company said. In 2022 Amazon’s solar and wind farms supported 39,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

In the U.S., during the same time period, Amazon’s wind and solar farms helped to generate $8.8 billion of investment and support, contributing more than $4.2 billion GDP, it said. In 2022, its renewable projects supported 12,800 jobs in the U.S.

Yellowbud Solar Farm

As an example of this new analysis, Amazon is releasing information about specific communities that were impacted by its renewable energy projects, such as the Yellowbud Solar Farm in Ohio.

To date, Amazon has announced 17 solar projects and one wind project in Ohio, including Yellowbud Solar Farm, which is located outside of Columbus and recently became operational.

Amazon’s commitment to buy electricity produced by utility-scale solar and wind energy projects in Ohio generated an estimated $1.6 billion of investment and contributed $854 million to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 2014 through 2022, according to new economic data released by the company. It also supported an estimated 3,560 full-time equivalent jobs in Ohio in 2022.

Yellowbud Solar Farm (Courtesy: Amazon)

Through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Amazon makes commitments to buy the electricity produced by the future renewable energy projects, which allow wind and solar farm developers to raise funds, purchase equipment, and construct the projects without direct costs to local energy users.

These PPAs also generate economic activity in the communities where the projects are located. For example, they can result in hiring solar farm managers or wind turbine technicians needed to manage the projects, supporting the jobs needed to manufacture the parts needed to build the projects, and increasing business at hotels, restaurants, and retail stores in the surrounding community.

Amazon set a self-reported corporate record for the most renewable energy purchased by a company in a single year, with 8.3 GW procured in 2022, and has remained the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy since 2020, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. As of the end of 2022, 90% of the electricity Amazon used to power its operations was from renewable energy resources.

Earlier this year, Amazon added five new solar and wind projects in the southeastern US, reaching 30 projects in the southeast and more than 400 worldwide. The company has plans to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years earlier than its original goal of 2030.

Amazon’s broader operations in Ohio include 17 fulfillment and sortation centers, 16 delivery stations, 12 Whole Foods Market locations, two Prime Now fulfillment centers, and one air hub at the CVG airport.