Amazon on Wednesday announced that it would build three solar farms in Rajasthan with a combined capacity of 420 megawatts. This will be the first time that the e-commerce major will be establishing a solar farm in the country.
According to reports, power purchase agreements (PPAs) have been signed for three projects that include a 210 MW project to be developed by ReNew Power, a 100 MW project to be developed by Amp Energy India & a 110 MW project to be developed by Brookfield Renewable Partners.
In addition, Amazon will establish 23 new solar rooftop projects in 14 Indian cities, with a combined potential to produce an extra 4.09 MW of electricity. This would increase the company’s total number of solar rooftop projects in the country to 41 with 19.7 MW of renewable energy capacity.
According to Abhinav Singh, director of customer fulfilment, supply chain, and Amazon Transportation Services at Amazon India, "Amazon is committed to helping scale corporate renewable energy procurement options in the country, bringing associated green jobs and investments to more parts of India."
In addition to these PPAs, he continued, "Our efforts also include training for developers and other buyers on how to structure these agreements for mutual benefit, facilitating government dialogues with industry groups to highlight the importance of corporate buyers, and collaborating with local energy providers who want to reach new customers."
These farms can produce 1.07 million megawatt hours (1,076,000 MWh) of renewable energy annually, which is more than enough to power 360,000 average-sized homes in New Delhi.
According to Sumant Sinha, founder, chairman, and CEO of ReNew Power, "Leading organizations like Amazon set an example for other businesses globally to adopt clean energy sources and accelerate the energy transition, a prerequisite to meet our net-zero goals."
According to Amp Energy India, by the end of 2023, a 100 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan will be completely operational and help to mitigate 1.13 lakh MT of harmful CO2 emissions. MD and CEO Pinaki Bhattacharyya said, "This project also promotes the government's 'Digital India' mission of converting India into a digitally empowered society powered by renewable energy."
