Amazon has claimed to have achieved its goal of having 100% of its energy consumption come from renewable energy sources.
The milestone, reached in 2023, was achieved seven years ahead of the company's 2030 goal. It covers all of the company's global operations, including corporate buildings, grocery stores and logistics centers.
Remarkably, the company managed to achieve its goal despite a significant increase in global demand for data centers in the wake of publicly available generative AI tools.
Amazon runs on 100% renewable electricity
For four consecutive years starting in 2019, Amazon was recognized as the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, helping it meet its goal ahead of schedule. The company has invested billions in more than 500 solar and wind projects around the world, generating enough energy to power about 7.6 million American homes annually.
This includes 1.7 GW of offshore wind, which it says makes Amazon “the largest corporate buyer of offshore wind globally.”
Kara Hurst, Amazon’s chief sustainability officer, said: “Reaching our renewable energy goal is an incredible achievement and we are proud of the work we have done to get here, seven years early.”
However, in recognition of the growing demand and consumption of energy, particularly to power its data centres, Hurst indicated that the work is not yet complete: “We also know that this is just a moment in time, and our work to decarbonise our operations will not always be the same each year – we will continue to move forward, whilst constantly evolving on our path to 2040.”
Looking ahead, Amazon says it remains committed to meeting its climate pledge of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, but technological developments in recent years could increase the pressure.
As part of its ongoing work, Amazon has also committed to helping modernize the grid and energy distribution systems, including some of the 80 million kilometers of grids that need upgrading by 2040 (according to the International Energy Agency).
