American energy developer AES Corporation announced last week that it has signed two power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Amazon to deliver 450 MW of clean energy to power its data center operations in California.
AES Corporation’s portfolio of projects will provide renewable energy to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market with 450 MW of solar and 225 MW of four-hour duration battery energy storage. The company has also contracted with Fluence to provide energy storage solutions for one of the projects.
“AES is proud to support Amazon’s bold actions to power its business operations, including its AWS data centers, with 100% renewable energy,” said AES president and CEO Andrés Gluski.
“Together with Amazon, we’re showing how customized energy solutions and innovative thinking can help organizations of all kinds to decarbonize their operations and the grid,” he added.
AES signed around 5 GW of new PPAs worldwide in 2021. The company recently announced a 20-year deal with Microsoft to offer renewable energy to its data centers in California.
AES stated that it will provide renewable energy from a portfolio of 110 MWAC solar and 55 MW storage projects in the CAISO region. The new deal expands the firms’ renewable energy arrangements and will aid Microsoft in its pursuit of its 100/100/0 by 2030 target.
As for Amazon, the e-commerce giant has committed to reaching its net-zero carbon target by 2040 by powering all of its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. The PPA with AES is expected to help the company achieve this goal.
According to the Clean Energy Buyers Association’s 2021 Deal Tracker Top 10 list, Amazon is the most significant corporate buyer of renewable energy with 2.85 GW of announced projects.
Despite bold climate pledges, a report published in February by the NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch concluded that Amazon and other major companies show little substance to their emissions reduction claims.
In response, Amazon said it has been transparent about its investments in nature-based solutions, and it’s on a path toward powering its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of its original target of 2030. The company also highlighted other initiatives, including deploying 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030.
