The unstoppable winds that howl across Benton County’s crop land will move Amazon Web Services toward its long-term goal of using 100 percent renewable energy.
A division of online retail giant Amazon.com, Amazon Web Services provides cloud computing, databases, networking, storage and content delivery, analytics, and administration and security services to individuals and corporations around the world.
Amazon Web Services in November announced its commitment to achieve complete renewable energy usage for its global infrastructure footprint.
Amazon Web Services and Pattern Energy Group last month announced a 13-year deal in which Amazon agreed to purchase energy generated by more than 60 wind turbines that Pattern will build and operate near Fowler.
Pattern Energy will erect the turbines during phase four of Fowler Ridge Wind Farm, which was sold to Pattern Energy by BP Wind Energy, BP press officer Jason Ryan said. BP continues to operate the first three phases, he said.
By early next year, the new turbines will generate about 500,000 megawatt hours of wind energy annually, enough to power 46,000 homes in the United States, Pattern Energy spokesman Matt Dallas said.
The project is one of several sustainability activities and renewable energy projects used to power Amazon Wind Services’ data centers, vice president of infrastructure Jerry Hunter said in a news release.