A recent post in at www.datacenterfrontier.com highlighted just how much Amazon has invested in its data centers in Oregon and its commitment to working with the local community to build new facilities with an eye toward sustainability. According to the post,
“Amazon Web Services says it has invested $15 billion in its cloud cluster in Oregon, which has become the primary West Coast deployment zone for the AWS cloud platform. The company is continuing to expand in Oregon, with plans to build more data centers in Morrow County and billions of dollars of additional investment. As it grows, the huge cloud platform is pursuing new strategies to procure power with the necessary scale and sustainability.
A post on Amazon’s website said the company recently partnered with Umatilla Electric Cooperative (UEC) — the electric cooperative serving AWS in Oregon’s Umatilla and Morrow Counties — to create a solution that safely and reliably powers its data centers in the region and keeps Amazon on a path to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2025.
“The agreement allows Amazon to take on the responsibility of selecting the energy supply that powers its data center operations, including from renewable energy resources,” the post said. “UEC continues to be an essential partner and provider of reliable utility service to AWS data centers in UEC's service territory. Amazon’s energy supply from our utilities, combined with our renewable energy procurement across the United States, has enabled several AWS data center Regions — including its US West (Oregon) Region—to be powered with at least 95% renewable energy.
“In addition to AWS investing over $15 billion in the state economy since 2011 and recycling up to 96% of AWS cooling water to provide millions of gallons of water to local farmers each year, we’re now able to directly invest in renewable energy across the Pacific Northwest to help power AWS operations in Oregon. We’re grateful for the collaboration with UEC, which will help us stay on a path to meeting 100% renewable energy by 2025,” said Charley Daitch, director of Energy and Water at AWS.