Amazon has pledged more than 40GW of carbon-free energy capacity across over 700 projects worldwide, a portfolio the company says could power more than 12.1 million U.S. homes.
The program spans 28 countries and includes utility-scale solar and wind, offshore wind, on-site solar, battery storage, and an expanding nuclear footprint, positioning Amazon as the largest private corporate purchaser of carbon-free energy globally for the fifth consecutive year, according to BloombergNEF.
The investment strategy focuses on supporting the company’s rapidly growing energy demand from Amazon Web Services and AI data centers. The variability of renewable generation, particularly from solar and wind, has prompted the deployment of 11 utility-scale battery storage projects and the integration of AI-driven energy management systems. At California’s Baldy Mesa solar installation, software analyzing 33 billion data points annually determines optimal storage and dispatch to smooth supply during peak demand periods.
Nuclear energy is emerging as a complementary baseload source in Amazon’s portfolio. In Washington state, the company is funding the development of four advanced small modular reactors through Energy Northwest, totaling an initial 320MW, with potential expansion to 960MW. Concurrently, Amazon has invested $500 million in reactor developer X-Energy to support over 5GW of U.S. nuclear capacity by 2039. Maria Korsnick, CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, emphasizes that corporate support for nuclear, particularly SMRs, is critical to balancing the intermittent output of renewables and meeting growing electricity demand from data-intensive operations.
Beyond internal consumption, Amazon’s energy projects are intended to strengthen broader grid resilience. In Mississippi, collaboration with Entergy is supporting 650MW of renewable generation alongside a $300 million grid reliability program projected to reduce outages for residential customers by 50%. Ray Long, President of ACORE, notes that long-term corporate power purchase agreements provide the financial certainty needed for large-scale renewable deployment, benefiting both the grid and local communities.
Operational efficiency improvements complement Amazon’s procurement efforts. The company reports a global Power Usage Effectiveness score of 1.15 in 2024 and a Water Usage Effectiveness of 0.15 liters per kilowatt-hour, marking a 17% year-on-year improvement. Many facilities rely on water-based cooling for less than 5% of the year, underscoring efficiency gains across its data centers, fulfillment centers, and electric delivery fleets.
