Amazon’s first operational wind farm in the Republic of Ireland has come online and is delivering clean energy to the country’s electricity grid.
The 23MW wind farm in County Cork, southern Ireland, is the first in the country to be built without public subsidies.
It is also the first of three utility-scale renewables projects Amazon is investing in in the Republic of Ireland.
Another wind farm in County Galway and one in County Donegal are due to become operational in 2022.
In total, Amazon’s three utility-scale renewables projects in Ireland are projected to add 229MW of renewable energy to the Irish grid each year.
Amazon is the first company in Ireland to sign un-subsidised corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs).
In 2020, Amazon became the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world, having invested in 6500 MW of renewable power.
These projects supply renewable energy for fulfilment centres and Amazon’s data centres that support millions of customers globally, the online retailer said.
“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.”
Other innovative projects Amazon is investing in to support Ireland in meeting its 2030 renewable energy targets include the country’s first, custom-built district heating scheme that will provide heat recycled from an Amazon data centre to public sector, residential, and commercial residents in Tallaght, south Dublin.
The project will begin supplying heat within the next 12 months.