Oct 20 2017
On October 19th, 2017, Amazon announced that its largest wind farm yet — Amazon Wind Farm Texas — is presently up and running, adding more than 1,000,000 MWh of clean energy to the grid every year.
Solar Projects Across the U.S." />VioNet/ Shutterstock.com
Amazon has launched 18 solar and wind projects all over the U.S., with more than 35 more to come. These projects will together generate adequate clean energy in order to power more than 330,000 homes each year. Additionally, these projects support hundreds of jobs and further provide tens of millions of dollars of investment in local communities throughout the country.
Amazon Wind Farm Texas comprises of more than 100 turbines, and each turbine is over 300 feet tall with a rotor diameter more than twice the wingspan of a Boeing 787. Amazon Wind Farm Texas is built, operated and owned by Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE), an I Squared Capital portfolio company and a key developer of solar and wind projects throughout the U.S. The grand opening of the wind farm was celebrated with a BBQ event onsite by Amazon, LCE, and local residents and officials. To thank and support the local community, Amazon is donating $50,000 to the Snyder Education Foundation in order to provide teachers and students with STEM learning opportunities.
Investing in renewable energy is a win-win-win-win – it’s right for our customers, our communities, our business, and our planet. We now have 18 wind and solar projects across the U.S. with more than 35 projects to come. These are important steps toward reaching our long-term goal to power our global infrastructure using 100% renewable energy. We’d like to thank the leaders at LCE, the Scurry County community, and our partners across the country who are helping us continue to bring new renewable energy online.
Kara Hurst, Worldwide Director of Sustainability, Amazon
“I applaud Amazon’s leadership in supporting renewable power. Corporations like Amazon have become a major force in the transition to renewable power, and with their involvement, we look forward to producing power in Scurry County for years to come,” said Declan Flanagan, founder and CEO of LCE.
Scurry County has long been a hub for the energy industry and we’re excited to expand our commitment to wind power generation with Amazon and LCE. The wind industry has boosted the Texas economy with jobs, revenue to area landowners, and property taxes that support our schools.
Ricky Fritz, Scurry County Judge
Besides its investment in renewable energy, Amazon’s commitment to sustainability comprises of innovations such as Frustration-Free Packaging programs, which eliminated over 55,000 tons of packaging in 2016, the District Energy system at its HQ in Seattle that heats more than 3 million square feet of office space by using recycled heat obtained from a neighboring non-Amazon data center, and more.