Turning dirty to clean: Amazon to buy power from solar array on former US coal mine site

Web retail giant Amazon will buy energy from a solar project being built on the former site of a 120-year-old coal mine - its first renewable energy project on land abandoned due to toxic pollution from industrial use.

The company will use electricity to power its Amazon Web Services data centres, physical stores, and fulfillment centres.

The 170MW Amazon Solar Farm Maryland - CPV Backbone will employ 300,000 panels and be the largest solar array in the state upon completion, according to project developer Competitive Power Ventures, which is based in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Operations at the recently closed Arch Coal had left the area in Garrett County in western Maryland with more than 450,000 cubic yards (344,050 cu metres) of coal refuse, which the state later reclaimed, removing the toxins.

The brownfield site’s proximity to existing power lines with available capacity means the solar farm will be able to quickly provide clean power to the grid in late 2024. Interconnection is a key hurdle for some renewable energy projects.

“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 (AWS).

Competitive Power Ventures said the project will help the region avoid roughly 133,000 tons of CO2 – the equivalent of taking more than 26,000 cars off the road each year.

“This project is a prime example of the opportunity we have to decarbonise our economy while repurposing brownfield sites and providing economic benefits and clean energy to our host communities,” said Sean Finnerty, EVP of renewable energy at CPV.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the US, which are an emerging opportunity for solar projects, as they are often located near power lines and public roads. This makes it easier for interconnection, a key hurdle for many renewable energy projects, and facilitates construction.

The 2022 federal climate law provides lucrative tax credits for eligible renewable energy projects located in fossil fuel brownfield sites.

Amazon also announced a second PV project in Maryland in Kent County on the state’s eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay. It describes the Morgnec facility as “agrovoltaic,” meaning it will produce energy while allowing for the land beneath the bifacial panels to be used for growing crops.

It claims it will power 0% of its operations with renewable energy by 2025, after achieving 90% renewable power in 2022.