(NationalUSNews.com) — On Wednesday July 10, corporate giant Amazon announced that it had achieved its 100% renewable electricity goal seven years ahead of schedule. Kara Hurst, vice president of worldwide sustainability at Amazon, has said the company is very excited about this achievement. However, an Amazon employee activist group called Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ) has disputed this claim. They say that only 22% of the company’s U.S. data centers actually run on clean power.
In AECJ’s report, they indicate that Amazon relies heavily on renewable energy credits (RECs) to claim its renewable energy usage. These RECs often represent existing renewable energy rather than funding of new projects. The group’s research found that 68% of Amazon’s RECs are unbundled, which means they do not contribute to new renewable infrastructure. Amazon has rejected this accusation, stating that the 22% figure is inaccurate. Amazon claims that they are using RECs until new wind and solar projects come online, although these projects may not necessarily be located near Amazon’s data centers.
AECJ further argues that Amazon’s reliance on RECs can lead to the construction of new fossil fuel plants to meet energy demands. Eliza Pan, a representative from AECJ and a former Amazon employee, mentioned that Dominion Energy is now expanding its fossil fuel infrastructure in Virginia. She says the expansion is due to increased demand, and that Amazon is one of their largest customers. The employee activist group has criticized Amazon for purchasing RECs from distant locations that do not directly offset the energy used by their data centers.
In their announcement, Amazon says they will continue to invest in renewable energy as well as explore new carbon-free energy sources. The employee group would like the company to follow Google’s lead and work towards using carbon-free energy on every grid where it operates. CDP, a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impact, gives Amazon a B grade. Google and Microsoft both received A grades.
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