Amazon invests in Vulcan County renewables

A couple of renewable energy projects in Vulcan County are being backed by a tech giant.

Amazon had already acquired the Travers solar project's power and now it's taking over the Buffalo Plains wind project on the east side of the county.

It's partnering with developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on a 495-megawatt capacity wind farm.

Reeve Jason Schneider says it's a real boost for the county.

"It's a big project, it's 83 towers going up, so it provides a lot of jobs during construction and then it's a big taxpayer, it's a large project for sure," he says. "This project's been underway for about two years, it's being constructed, and the towers are going up in early 2024."

The company working on the wind farm started pouring the bases in the summer and they'll begin putting the towers up in early 2024.

Schneider says the solar and wind projects have pretty much replaced the oil and gas assessment that has been lost with the failure of some companies to pay their municipal taxes.

The two projects will power Amazon's local operations in Alberta, including its fulfilment centres, sortation centres, delivery stations, and Amazon Web Services data centre.

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