Amazon Bringing Renewable Energy to Illinois in a Big Way

Amazon's climate pledge is to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years ahead of schedule. This is another big leap forward.

Amazon announced they will be bringing a large-scale solar energy project to Illinois' Lee County.

This will be Amazon's first renewable energy project in Illinois and Midwest. They're also bringing another project to Frederick County, Virginia and it will be their ninth in the state of Virginia.

About these two new projects, Amazon said:

Together, they total 180 MW and are expected to generate almost 400,000 MWh of renewable energy annually.

Wondering just what all those numbers mean?

ElectricChoice.com did a state-by-state ranking of how much electricity an average home uses and ranked Illinois at #35.

A average house in Illinois uses 755 kWh per month. That means the average house uses 9,060 kWh yearly, or 9.06 MWh. These combined projects would produce enough renewable energy to power 44,150 average homes in Illinois.

Amazon says it's working toward 80 percent of renewable energy by 2024 and 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, on a path to net zero carbon by 2040, according to wrex.com.