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Amazon to invest in Canada's largest solar farm in race for sustainability

Amazon (AMZN) has announced a plan to invest in 14 new renewable energy projects, including Canada's largest solar farm. The company now expects to fully power its vast operations from renewable sources by 2025, five years ahead of its original target.

The delivery giant laid claim to the title of the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world on Wednesday. The company says new projects in Canada, Finland, Spain, and the U.S. bring its renewable energy investments to date to 10 gigawatts of electricity production capacity, enough to power 2.5 million American homes.

"Our investments in wind and solar energy in the U.S. and around the world send a signal that investing in green technologies is the right thing to do for the planet and citizens, as well as for the long-term success of businesses," chief executive officer Jeff Bezos stated in a news release.

Amazon says it will now have a total of 232 renewable energy projects globally, including 85 utility-scale wind and solar projects, and 147 solar rooftops on facilities and stores worldwide.

Wednesday's announcement included Amazon's second renewable energy project in Alberta, a 375 megawatt solar farm in Vulcan County. It is expected to come online in 2022. Amazon says its capacity in Canada will then hit more than one million megawatt hours, enough to power more than 100,000 Canadian homes.

"This is great news for our province and for all Albertans. Amazon's investment in our province means jobs for Albertans, and furthers Alberta's reputation as a diversified energy powerhouse," Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in Wednesday's news release.

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.

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