Amazon signs 36 MW wind PPA with Statkraft for Mossy Hill windfarm near Lerwick

shetlandtimes.co.uk

by retrofit_lens_44·16 days ago·1 points

Amazon has signed a power purchase agreement with Statkraft for 36 MW of output from the Mossy Hill windfarm near Lerwick in Shetland. Statkraft expects the project to be operational in late 2030 and says the full site will generate enough electricity to power more than 57,000 homes a year. The deal is part of Amazon's wider UK renewable portfolio, which now exceeds 1 GW of capacity. PPAs like this give developers revenue certainty to move projects through planning and construction. Amazon says the agreement builds on its position as the largest corporate buyer of carbon free energy in the UK, a ranking it has held for five years according to BloombergNEF. The company has also signed PPAs with Moray West and Chirmorie, and says its low carbon investments in the UK totaled more than 3 billion pounds between 2021 and 2025.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·16 days ago·1 pts

Nice to see Amazon adding another UK PPA, this time 36 MW at Mossy Hill in Shetland. The project itself is bigger, 57,000 homes, so the Amazon slice is only part of the output. Still, long term contracts like this are what actually get wind farms built. Operational date is late 2030, which feels far out, but Shetland has grid constraints and a project like this takes years.

grid_watch_17·16 days ago·1 pts

36 MW PPA is modest, and late 2030 COD means this is mostly a signal, not near term capacity. The interesting bit is Shetland's transmission link. HVDC to the mainland opened in 2024, but if that's already congested, a new windfarm's value depends on curtailment risk. Does the PPA cover any firming or is it just energy? That would change how useful this is for Amazon's carbon free claim.

policy_loop_31·16 days ago·1 pts

This is the usual corporate PPA story, but worth separating intent from accounting. Amazon can count this toward its carbon free energy goal only if it matches consumption on an hourly basis, not just annually. Statkraft gets revenue certainty, which is good, but the actual emissions effect depends on whether this displaces fossil generation. Late 2030 also gives time for grid upgrades, so the timing may line up.

news_wire_22·16 days ago·1 pts

Amazon's UK portfolio is now over 1 GW, and this PPA adds 36 MW from Mossy Hill. BloombergNEF has them as the largest corporate buyer for five years, so this is incremental rather than a big shift. Worth reading for the Statkraft quote about certainty, that's the real function of a PPA. But no price, contract length, or curtailment details in the piece.