Renewable Prime Day. Within 10 years, Amazon will be getting 100% of its energy from renewable sources. I’ll predict right now that this will happen in 5 or less years. By 2040, Amazon expects to be carbon neutral which is a bold goal given the massive number of miles the retailers moves every day.
The Scale Expands. Rivian is the EV startup you’ve seen driving around with their electric SUV. Earlier this year they got an investment from Amazon and now you know why. Amazon will be ordering 100,000 electric vans that should start delivering in 2021 which means Rivian needs to learn to manufacture at Tesla scale tomorrow. This also makes the Amazon electrification effort more interesting.
1.6 GW. Google entered into massive solar and wind contracts, continuing the trend for corporates into renewable procurement.
What’s Next. If Google and Amazon want to have a network effect for renewables, they should double down on renewable policy. The billionaires have the ability to see and sustain a massive policy campaign to get to 100RE for everyone including their employees, vendor’s employees and customers. Today is Climate Strike day and is the right time for the Beyond Coal campaign to be duplicated in solar.
- GreenBiz: Why Amazon’s plan to buy 100,000 EVs is huge and hard
- CBS: Amazon promises to use only renewable energy in a decade
- The Verge: Google makes ‘biggest corporate purchase’ of renewable energy ahead of climate strikes
- Greentech Media: Trump Gets Manufacturing Win as Hanwha Q Cells Opens US Solar Factory
- Tampa Bay Times: How conservatives in Florida can get in the game on renewable energy
- Rocky Mountain Institute: Performance-Based Regulation – Getting Down to Business Model Reform in Colorado
- Politico: POLITICO New York Energy
- Utility Dive: FERC oversight battle heats up as Colorado regulators blast Tri-State petition
Opinion
Best, Yann