Amazon has signed a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) with ENGIE, increasing its share of output from Ocean Winds’ Moray West offshore wind farm in Scotland to a total of 473MW when the site becomes operational later this year. This is enough energy to power the equivalent of more than 650,000 UK homes annually. Ocean Winds is a 50-50 EDP Renewables-ENGIE joint venture dedicated to offshore wind.

Located in the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland, the 882MW wind farm is currently under construction and will generate power in 2024. Ocean Winds is following an accelerated development and construction plan, with capacity from the site supporting Amazon’s goal of powering all operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of the company’s original target.

Amazon announced 39 new renewable energy projects across Europe last year, adding more than 1GW of clean energy capacity to grids in the region. Amazon’s investment in solar and wind projects has led the company to become Europe’s and the UK’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, a position it has held since 2021. In addition, between 2014 to 2022, renewable energy projects in the UK enabled by Amazon have generated an estimated £285 million in investment and helped to contribute more than £90 million to the UK’s GDP. They also supported 600 local jobs in 2022 alone.

Lindsay McQuade, Director of Energy, EMEA, Amazon Web Services (AWS), said:
“Transitioning to carbon-free energy sources is one of the most impactful ways to lower carbon emissions, and is part of our Climate Pledge commitment to reach net zero carbon across our operations by 2040. We are on track to meet our ambitious goal of powering our global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, and in 2022, 90% of electricity consumed by Amazon was attributable to renewable energy sources. Projects like Moray West will play a critical role in decarbonising Amazon’s operations and the UK grid, with this agreement demonstrating Amazon’s commitment to this ambition.”

Last year, ENGIE signed 19 ground-breaking deals, spanning five countries, covering over 1GW of clean energy capacity, bolstering ENGIE’s CPPA portfolio to 7.3GW.

Paulo Almirante, ENGIE Senior Executive Vice-President Renewables & Energy Management, said: 
“Moray West reflects our strategy to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral world, through investing in renewable generation technologies. Furthermore, the innovative character of this CPPA shows that it is possible to create, together with Amazon, the conditions to achieve the UK objectives of renewables deployment and net zero economy. This deal strengthens ENGIE’s leadership position for CPPAs, through which ENGIE has sold a substantial capacity of renewable electricity generated by its wind and solar assets.”

Bautista Rodriguez, CEO at Ocean Winds, said: 
“I am proud that the collective efforts of the Moray West and Ocean Winds teams, working closely with colleagues in ENGIE, helped secure this important deal with Amazon, prior to the Financial Close of the project and as part of an innovative and unprecedented route to market for an offshore wind farm. The programme for delivery of the power for Amazon is ambitious but the project and sponsor boards have supported us to keep the project firmly on track.”

Moray West represents continued investment by Ocean Winds to deliver its 2025 targets of 5-7 GW of projects in operation, or construction, and 5-10 GW under advanced development. The project, part of the company’s 6GW portfolio of secured offshore wind farms in the UK, is expected to inject up to £500 million in the local Scottish economy throughout its lifespan, and during construction phases it will create and support more than 1,000 jobs in Scotland, with 70 long-term operational roles.

More than half of the investment and operating costs of Moray West will benefit the UK economy, underlining Ocean Winds’ commitment to local supply chains. Moray West is also supporting a number of local education and training goals, including transitioning of skilled workforce from the oil and gas sector, apprenticeship and internship programmes, as well as sponsoring PhD candidates focused on environmental studies. The new and growing operational team in the coastal town of Buckie now includes technicians and trainee technicians with the team ready to take responsibility for the project assets as they are commissioned in 2024 and 2025.

KeyFacts Renewable Energy Directory: Ocean Winds