Online retailing giant Amazon has embarked on a solar energy initiative with a mission of installing solar systems on 50 fulfillment facilities globally by 2020.
In the US, the e-commerce company has plans to install large-scale solar systems on rooftops of over 15 fulfillment and sortation centers through the current year.
Once operational, the solar projects would produce 41MW of clean power at its facilities across California, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada, stated Amazon.
Amazon worldwide operations senior vice president Dave Clark said: “As our fulfillment network continues to expand, we want to help generate more renewable energy at both existing and new facilities around the world in partnership with community and business leaders.
“We are putting our scale and inventive culture to work on sustainability—this is good for the environment, our business and our customers. By diversifying our energy portfolio, we can keep business costs low and pass along further savings to customers. It’s a win-win.”
As per the e-retailer, each of its solar installations could meet about 80% of the annual energy requirements of a fulfillment facility.
Among the recent renewable energy projects undertaken by the retailer includes a 253MW wind farm in West Texas, its largest in the category to date which was announced in September last year. Constructed in Scurry County, the wind farm comprises over 100 turbines.
Additionally, Amazon owns a network of wind and solar farms in North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia and Ohio that deliver energy onto the electric grid responsible to power the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers.
The company boasts of a renewable energy portfolio of 3.6 million MW to date which includes both commenced and upcoming projects.
Image: Aerial view of two Amazon fulfillment facilities with solar systems on their rooftops. Photo: courtesy of P2 Photography/Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.