Amazon revealed on Thursday that it has committed funding to a venture aimed at constructing a 60-megawatt (MW) solar power facility in the southwestern region of South Korea. (Image courtesy of Amazon)
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Amazon has initiated its inaugural foray into renewable energy investments in South Korea. The company revealed on Thursday that it has committed funding to a venture aimed at constructing a 60-megawatt (MW) solar power facility in the southwestern region of South Korea.
The specific investment amount and plant location were not disclosed by the company. Anticipated to yield 81,211 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean energy annually, the project is set to power approximately 25,000 South Korean households.
This initiative will contribute renewable energy to the grid supporting Amazon’s operations, encompassing corporate offices and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers. SK E&S will take charge of the forthcoming construction and operation of the project, with Amazon and SK E&S entering into a long-term corporate power purchase agreement (PPA).
During the construction phase, Amazon foresees the creation of around 2,400 jobs. Notably, this renewable energy investment stands distinct from AWS’ recent declaration of a 7.85 trillion won ($5.88 billion) investment in domestic cloud infrastructure by 2027, responding to the growing demand for cloud services.
Ham Kee Ho, President of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Korea, remarked, “This solar project in Korea will help Amazon take a step closer to achieving our goal of being 100 percent powered by renewable energy by 2025, while fulfilling our promise to deliver a more sustainable digital transformation for our customers.”
Choo Hyeong-Wook, President of SK E&S, expressed the commitment to supporting both domestic and international companies in their decarbonization endeavors through collaborations with global leaders like Amazon.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
