Amazon inks deal with ENGIE for 123MW of Scottish offshore wind power

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.

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. The farm contains 60 turbines of 14.7 MW/unit.

In 2022, Amazon secured an initial 350MW of power from the Moray West offshore wind farm. The latest PPA adds another 123MW.

Ocean Winds - a 50-50 EDP Renewables and ENGIE joint venture dedicated to offshore wind - 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. Between 2014 to 2022, renewable energy projects in the UK enabled by Amazon have generated an estimated £285 million in investment and contributed an estimated £90 million to the UK’s GDP.

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Lindsay McQuade, director of Energy, EMEA at 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 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.”

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 5-7GW of projects in operation, or construction, and 5-10GW 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 is said to benefit the UK economy, underlining Ocean Winds’ commitment to local supply chains.