Amazon buys half the renewable power generated by new North Sea wind farm

Tech giant has pledged to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025

Amazon has signed a deal to buy half the renewable power generated by a new offshore wind farm being built off the coast of the Netherlands.

The North Sea wind farm Hollandse Kust is being constructed by renewables and natural gas firm Eneco and energy giant Royal Dutch Shell, and is due to come online in 2023, providing 759 MW of power, of which 380 MW will be reserved for Amazon under a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Amazon's investment will help Shell and Mitsubishi-owned Eneco to realise their plans for zero-subsidy continuous generation no matter what the weather conditions by expanding the facility beyond wind to include floating solar, short-term battery storage, and electrolysers to produce hydrogen

Amazon has committed to become a net zero carbon business by 2040, with plans to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025, a target brought forward from its original goal of 2030.

The tech and retail giant is the world's largest corporate buyer of renewable power, after securing a 3.4GW package of PPAs last December, knocking Google into second place.

The company has made a number of commitments to tackle the problem of climate change, including a $10 billion Earth Fund which includes a $2 billion investment programme to support "visionary companies whose products and services will facilitate the transition to a zero carbon economy", and a pledge to invest $100 million in restoring and protect forests, wetlands and peatlands in partnership with environmental charity The Nature Conservancy. Other projects include green aviation fuel and a fleet of electric delivery vehicles.

CEO Jeff Bezos, who is to step aside from that role later this year, has said the Earth Fund is one of the things he hopes to be able to spend more time on - along with Amazon's Blue Origin space programme.

However, critics note that Amazon's greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing and that the company has been slow to deliver the promised funds.

Tech companies including Amazon, Microsoft and Google have also been criticised for providing machine learning tools to fossil fuel companies for resource exploration, thus potentially slowing the move to renewables. NGO InfluenceMap argued the sector was failing to show corporate leadership in climate advocacy, despite their significant economic clout, burgeoning profits and many pronouncements arguing the need for change.