Amazon, which according to Bloomberg NEF, buys more renewable energy than any other company worldwide, is highlighting a couple of its new Kentucky solar projects for WVXU and other media.
At its Air Hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Amazon is partnering with Duke Energy for a two-megawatt alternating current (MWac) with more than 5,600 solar panels. Amazon is leasing the roof free of charge to Duke, which is operating the system and feeding all the electricity it generates into the local grid.
Duke has two other solar sites in Grant and Kenton Counties. Walton Solar Power Plants 1 & 2 are on 60 -acres on York Road and the Crittenden Solar Power Plant is on portions of a 110-acre site on Ruark Road.
"I want to congratulate Amazon and Duke Energy for their collaboration that demonstrates both companies' commitment to move towards a more environmentally friendly energy future for Kentucky and for their work that creates healthier communities," said Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman.
Amazon now has five solar projects in Kentucky, including one that combines agriculture and renewable energy. They are expected to generate more than 915 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy, capable of powering about 86,000 homes. Turkey Creek is operated by Silicon Ranch in Garrard County, south of Lexington.
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Owner of Hazelbrook Farm Daniel Bell, and the project's developer and landowner, Silicon Ranch, are combining sheep farming and solar.
"Bell's sheep are being used as part of a managed approach to grazing, which will prevent the vegetation from becoming overgrown and interfering with energy production, while also improving soil health and ecosystem function," an Amazon release says. "The panels in return provide a source of shade for the sheep.”
Silicon Ranch Co-Founder and CEO Reagan Farr adds "Through our Regenerative Energy platform, we are proving that marrying solar and agriculture on one piece of property generates important social, economic and environmental benefits for our communities ..."
Amazon has a total of 30 solar and wind projects in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The company's goal is to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.
"Powering our operations with 100-percent renewable energy is an important part of Amazon's commitment to reach net zero by 2040, and we built Amazon's Air Hub-the largest field operation in Amazon's history-with sustainability in mind," says Chris Roe, Amazon director of energy and sustainable operations."
Agravoltaics could be a solution for counties opposed to solar farms
Combining agriculture and solar, like Amazon is doing at Turkey Creek in Garrard County, could be a compromise and a model for the rest of the country.
In this January 2023 WVXU story about the increasing number of Ohio counties banning solar farms, Wood Mackenzie Solar Analyst Matthew Sahd called out Amazon for what's driving solar farm growth: "Cheap land, land availability and corporations like Amazon and the Metas and the Microsofts of the world."
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But Sahd and sustainability journalist Robert Bryce say solutions include using brownfields for solar or planting crops alongside solar. This is agrivoltaics.
Sahd is seeing energy companies pivot because of solar farm opposition. "Whether it's downsizing their projects, creating ties much earlier in the process with the community or highlighting the tax values that are going to school districts, I've even seen things like scholarship funds or donations that have been added to the local community."
