Amazon building a 100-megawatt solar farm in Kiowa County, Oklahoma - Oklahoman.com

Amazon building a 100-megawatt solar farm in Kiowa County, Oklahoma

Amazon is adding a solar farm to its renewable energy projects in Oklahoma. Here's where
Richard Mize

Amazon said Tuesday that it's putting a 100-megawatt solar farm in Kiowa County, adding to its renewable energy projects in Oklahoma.

When operational, the solar farm and the company's wind farms in Caddo, Pontotoc and Beaver counties combined will be capable of generating an estimated maximum 618 megawatts of energy, the company said.

A megawatt produced by solar energy is enough to power a couple hundred homes per year, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Amazon will use it to help provide electricity to its own operations.

Amazon said the solar farm will help power its fulfillment centers, sortation centers and delivery stations, as well as provide a source of energy to the Hobart-area, about 120 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.

“At Amazon, we’re constantly seeking innovative ways to bring more solar and wind projects online, both to power our operations, and to bring new sources of clean energy to the communities where our customers live and work,” said Nat Sahlstrom, head of energy, water and sustainability for Amazon Web Services. “These projects are also helping create jobs, support local businesses, and boost the local tax base, which are all part of Amazon’s broader commitment to become a more sustainable company.”

The Energy Information Administration lists the project as "planned for installation, but regulatory approvals not initiated." Amazon did not provide details on the construction or a timeline.

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Amazon says its renewable energy projects support local economies

Here's how Amazon said its solar and wind farms help local economies in Oklahoma.

- The company’s investments in utility-scale renewable energy projects generated an estimated $546 million in local economic investment from 2014 through 2022.
- Amazon contributed $193 million to the total state gross domestic product in the same period.
- The projects supported about 735 full-time equivalent jobs in Oklahoma in 2022 alone.
- Amazon uses long-term contracts known as Power Purchase Agreements, which commits it to buy electricity produced by the future renewable energy projects, which allow wind and solar farm developers to raise capital buy equipment, and construct the projects without direct costs to local energy users.

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Amazon said it was on its way to powering its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, fives years earlier than its original 2030 commitment.

"The company now has a total of 479 wind and solar projects globally, and once operational, they are expected to generate more than 71,000 gigawatt-hours of clean energy each year, or enough to power 6.7 million U.S. homes. As of the end of 2022, 90% of the electricity Amazon used to power its operations was from renewable energy resources," Amazon said.

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Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Real Estate with Richard Mize. You can support Richard's work, and that of his colleagues, by purchasing a digital subscription to The Oklahoman. Right now, you can get 6 months of subscriber-only access for $1.