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Sustainability in the Cloud
Sustainability in the Cloud
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is committed to running our business in the most environmentally friendly way possible and achieving 100% renewable energy usage for our global infrastructure.

Sustainability in the Cloud
AWS Timeline
Learn how AWS is working to achieve Amazon's goal of 100% renewable energy.
  • Solar panels.
    May 2020
    Amazon announces five new renewable energy projects in China, Australia, Ohio, and Virginia, with a combined 615 MW of additional renewable capacity and an expected generation of 1.2 million MWh of energy annually. Read More
  • Solar panels on the rooftop of an Amazon fulfillment center
    March 2020
    AWS announces four new renewable energy projects in Australia, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. Combined, these projects are expected to produce almost 300 MW of additional renewable capacity and approximately 840,000 MWh of energy annually. Read More
  • En un atardecer aparecen cinco molinos eólicos.
    December 2019
    Amazon announces three new renewable energy projects in the U.S. and Spain, which are expected to produce a combined 329 MW of additional renewable capacity and almost 700,000 MWh of energy annually. Read More
  • A collection of wind turbines in one of Amazon's wind farms
    October 2019
    AWS announces three new renewable energy projects in the U.S. and UK. Combined, these projects are expected to produce 265 MW of additional renewable capacity and approximately 670,000 MWh of energy annually. Read More
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    August 2019
    AWS announces two new renewable energy projects in Europe and the U.S., which are expected to produce approximately 168,000 MWh of clean energy annually. Read More
  • A single wind turbine sits in field of crops at the Amazon Wind Farm Indiana – Fowler Ridge.
    April 2019
    AWS announces three new wind farms—one in Ireland, one in Sweden, and one in the U.S. When complete, these projects are expected to produce 670,000 MWh of renewable energy annually. Read More
  • Wind farms like this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    2018
    AWS exceeds 50% renewable energy usage for 2018.
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    December 2017
    Five solar farms that AWS previously announced are now in operation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Together with Amazon Solar Farm U.S. East, the six solar farms bring 260 MW of renewable energy capacity onto the grid.
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    November 2016
    AWS announces five new solar farms across the Commonwealth of Virginia. These solar farms join the company’s existing project, Amazon Solar Farm U.S. East, which went into production in October 2016. Amazon worked with developers Virginia Solar LLC and Community Energy Solar on the projects and will further collaborate with an affiliate of Dominion Resources, Inc. to own and operate the solar farms.
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    October 2016
    Amazon worked with developers Virginia Solar LLC and Community Energy Solar on the projects and will further collaborate with an affiliate of Dominion Resources, Inc. to own and operate the solar farms.
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    October 2016
    Amazon Solar Farm U.S. East is now in production in Accomack County, Virginia.
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    June 2016
    AWS and Dominion Virginia Power join forces on a landmark renewable energy delivery deal. With this, Dominion Virginia Power will manage and integrate the energy produced from various Amazon wind and solar farm projects onto the grid that serves AWS datacenters.
  • A photo of Amazon's Day One building and the construction of the Seattle Spheres.
    April 2016
    Amazon joins Apple, Google, and Microsoft in filing an Amicus Brief that supports the continued implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) and discusses the technology industry’s growing desire for affordable renewable energy across the U.S. Read the brief here
  • Looking up from the base of a wind turbine at the Amazon Wind Farm Indiana – Fowler Ridge.
    January 2016
    Amazon launches Wind Farm Fowler Ridge, marking the first of our four announced renewable energy projects to move into full operation.
  • Wind farms like this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    November 2015
    AWS announces that it has contracted with EDP Renewables to construct and operate Amazon Wind Farm U.S. Central.
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    September 2015
    Amazon joins The Buyers’ Principles to collaborate with more than 40 other companies on making clean energy solutions more affordable and accessible to all. Learn more about The Buyers' Principles
  • Looking up from the base of a wind turbine at the Amazon Wind Farm Indiana – Fowler Ridge.
    July 2015
    AWS announces that it has contracted with Iberdrola Renewables, LLC to construct and operate Amazon Wind Farm U.S. East.
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    June 2015
    AWS announces that it has teamed with Community Energy, Inc. to construct and operate Amazon Solar Farm U.S. East. Read the press release
  • Solar farms likes this are just one of the ways AWS is working to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy.
    April 2015
    Amazon announces joining the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and will participate in the U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance (U.S. PREF) to increase our work with state and federal policymakers and other stakeholders to enable more renewable energy opportunities for cloud providers.
  • A vertical image of a wind turbine at the Amazon Wind Farm Indiana – Fowler Ridge.
    January 2015
    AWS announces that it has teamed with Pattern Development to construct and operate Amazon Wind Farm Fowler Ridge.
  • Eight wind turbines sit in a field of crops at the Amazon Wind Farm Indiana – Fowler Ridge
    November 2014
    AWS shares its long-term commitment to achieve 100% renewable energy usage for the global AWS infrastructure footprint.
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • April 2019
  • 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • October 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
Renewable Energy
Learn more about AWS renewable energy projects across the globe.
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An illustration featuring a cloud, green land, computer server, files and a laptop representing AWS and cloud efficiency.
An illustration featuring a cloud, green land, computer server, files and a laptop representing AWS and cloud efficiency.
Cloud Efficiency
The results of a study by 451 Research show that AWS’s infrastructure is 3.6 times more energy efficient than the median of the surveyed U.S. enterprise data centers. More than two-thirds of this advantage is attributable to the combination of a more energy efficient server population and much higher server utilization. AWS data centers are also more energy efficient than enterprise sites due to comprehensive efficiency programs that touch every facet of the facility.
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"When we factor in the carbon intensity of consumed electricity and renewable energy purchases, which reduce associated carbon emissions, AWS performs the same task with an 88% lower carbon footprint."
Source: 451 Research, 2019, All Rights Reserved.
An illustration symbolizing AWS initiatives to improve water efficiency to reduce use of water for cooling data centers.
An illustration symbolizing AWS initiatives to improve water efficiency to reduce use of water for cooling data centers.
Reducing Water in Data Centers
AWS has multiple initiatives to improve our water use efficiency and reduce the use of potable water for cooling data centers. AWS develops our water use strategy by evaluating climate patterns for each AWS Region, local water management and availability, and the opportunity to conserve drinking water sources.
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Video: Reducing Water in Data Centers
As part of our focus on building a sustainable business for our customers and the planet, AWS is committed to reducing the water used for cooling our data centers.
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Amazon Sustainable Data Initiative
Amazon Sustainable Data Initiative
Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative
The Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI) seeks to accelerate sustainability research and innovation by minimizing the cost and time required to acquire and analyze large sustainability datasets. ASDI supports innovators and researchers with the data, tools, and technical expertise they need to move sustainability to the next level.
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Customer Case Studies
Amazon customers are doing critical work in the cloud to support sustainability practices.
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'Fix This' Podcast from AWS
A bi-weekly podcast of bite-sized stories about how tech makes the world a better place. Leaders from around the globe share how they use technology to fix some of the world’s most pressing issues.
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AWS purchases and retires environmental attributes, like Renewable Energy Credits and Guarantees of Origin, to cover the non-renewable energy we use in these regions:
  • U.S. West (Oregon)
  • GovCloud (U.S. West)
  • Europe (Frankfurt)
  • Canada (Central)
  • Europe (Ireland)
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