Amazon will install solar on ten UK fulfillment centres over the next 18 months, with battery storage also planned at a number of sites. Image: P2 Photography.
Retail giant Amazon is to install 20MW of rooftop solar across its UK fulfillment centres within the next 18 months alongside battery storage aimed at delivering local and national flexibility services.
Solar Power Portal first reported back in July that Amazon had submitted planning documents for new installations at three of its fulfillment centres with a combined capacity of 3MW. This was followed a month later by a single 4MW rooftop array to be installed with a 3.77MW Tesla battery.
The company has now unveiled its plans in full, which will see systems installed on ten of its fulfilment centres, subject to planning and landlord approval. The projects, which will be developed and funded by Macquarie Principal Finance, form part of a commitment announced last year to deploy solar arrays on 50 customer fulfilment centres globally by 2020.
Stefano Perego, operations director for Amazon UK, said: “As our fulfilment network continues to expand, we want to help generate more renewable energy at both existing and new facilities around the world in partnership with community and business leaders.
“We are putting our scale and inventive culture to work on sustainability, which is good for the environment, our business, our customers, and the communities in which we operate. By diversifying our energy portfolio, we can keep business costs low and pass along further savings to customers.”
In addition, the accompanying battery storage installations will be used to allow Amazon to participate in energy demand management, frequency control, and load management schemes. The company said the batteries would be charged at times of low demand and used to power the selected centres when demand, and energy pricing, is at its highest.
The news was announced during Green Great Britain Week when several high profile companies, including Amazon, announced new initiatives to tackle climate change. Among them is HSBC UK Pensions Scheme, which is to invest £250 million in solar and wind generation.