The project in County Cork is Ireland’s first-ever wind farm to be built without public subsidies and is the first of three utility-scale renewables projects invested in by Amazon.
In County Cork, the wind farm project is expected to deliver 68,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy annually – reducing annual carbon emissions by 32,000 tons of CO2 and producing enough renewable energy to power 17,000 Irish homes per year. The 23 megawatt (MW) project will help support AWS data centers in Ireland.
The company has also invested in wind farm projects in County Galway and County Donegal, both of which are due to become operational in 2022.
In total, Amazon’s three utility-scale renewables projects in Ireland are projected to add 229 MW of renewable energy to the Irish grid each year, reducing carbon emissions by 366,000 tonn of CO2 and producing enough renewable energy to power approximately 185,000 Irish homes annually.
Sustainable future for Ireland
Amazon is the first company in Ireland to sign un-subsidized Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs). This means Amazon is helping to add renewable energy to the grid without direct government support, thus reducing subsidy costs on other local energy users.
In 2020, Amazon became the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world, having invested in 6,500 MW of renewable power. These projects supply renewable energy for fulfillment centers and AWS data centers that support millions of customers globally.
“Amazon has been investing and growing in Ireland for over 15 years,” said Mike Beary, AWS Ireland Country Manager. “We are building a digital economy for the future that is robust and sustainable.”
“Our wind farm in Esk is not only an important step in our journey toward powering our operations with 100% renewable energy, but also in Ireland’s journey to meeting its 2030 renewables targets,” said Kenneth Matthews, Head of Energy, EMEA, Amazon Web Services.
“With these three projects, we will be the largest single corporate buyer of renewable energy in the country, and we won’t stop here. You can expect to see us announce more renewables projects in future.”
Supplying clean energy across Europe
Amazon’s wind farm in County Cork is the company's third utility-scale renewable energy project to come online outside of the United States.
In September 2020, the company announced its 91 MW wind farm project in Bäckhammar, Sweden had begun to supply energy to the grid, followed by the 149 MW Cabrera solar project in Seville, Spain, which will provide enough energy to power 30,000 Spanish homes.
