Amazon, the US technology and e-commerce company, has agreed to buy power from a 125 MW solar park in Queensland, Australia, that was recently commissioned by Singapore’s Vena Energy. The Wandoan South solar farm power purchase agreement (PPA) aligns with Amazon’s objective of using 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. Vena Energy, a Global Infrastructure Partners portfolio firm, announced the deal, along with information about the solar farm’s start of commercial operations.
The Wandoan South Park, which is situated in Woleebee in the Western Downs region of Queensland, has more than 250,000 solar panels installed and is anticipated to produce enough electricity annually to power more than 60,000 Australian households. Currently known as Amazon Solar Farm, it is the first phase of a larger complex that includes 450 MW of energy storage facilities and up to 650 MW of projected solar generation capacity.
In January 2024, Amazon inked a corporate PPA with Engie to secure the 473 MW output of the Moray West offshore wind farm in Scotland. The deal is part of the e-commerce giant’s plan to run all of its operations entirely on renewable energy by 2025. The wind farm, which is slated to begin operations in 2024, will provide enough energy to power 650,000 UK households per year.
REGlobal’s Views: Amazon is one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable power in the world and is continuing to expand its renewables portfolio as it strives to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy procurement by 2025. The company reportedly met 90 per cent of its operational power requirements from renewables by the end of 2022. This project marks Amazon’s seventh renewable energy project in Australia, but the first in the Queensland region. Like Amazon, more corporates are joining the clean energy bandwagon to not only reduce their emissions, but also attract environmentally conscious investors and consumers and to bring down the cost of their power consumption through cheap renewables.
