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Amazon Says Its Nashville Hub Will Be ‘Energy Efficient’ But It’s Not Clear What That Will Mean

Chas Sisk
/
WPLN

Amazon says its new operations hub in downtown Nashville will include 1 million square feet of "energy-efficient office space." But it's still unclear how the facility will be powered.

The Seattle-based company has set ambitious environmental goals. Amazon's head of worldwide sustainability, Kara Hurst, told Forbes earlier this year the company is working toward powering its global infrastructure with 100 percent renewables. Hurst also mentioned Amazon is working to install 50 solar rooftops across its fufillment center network by 2020. But Amazon, Nashville Electric Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority, which helped recruit Amazon to the city, would not say this week whether the company will be using renewables. An Amazon spokesperson says they're just starting their design process. 

Other recent tech projects in Tennessee have included green energy components. Earlier this month, TVA agreed to provide Facebook with over 300 megawatts of solar power at its data center in Huntsville, Ala. TVA is also working with Google to develop a data center in Clarksville that will be powered by renewable energy.

But TVA has come under scrutiny from environmental groups for how it determines its renewable contracts. They accuse the utility of being more willing to work with large corporations to expand renewable energies like solar power, rather than small businesses and residential homeowners.

TVA says its growing its solar investments cautiously, to make sure rates don’t increase.

Copyright 2018 WPLN News

Shalina Chatlani is the 2018-19 Emerging Voices Fellow. Previously she was the associate editor for Education Dive, a contributing reporter for The Rio Times in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and an intern for Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Shalina graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service with an undergraduate degree in Science, Technology and International Affairs and later graduated from Georgetown's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences with a master's degree in Communication, Culture and Technology. Shalina is a fan of live music, outer space discussions and southern literature.