What City Has the Power to Woo Amazon?

Sharon Burke wrote for Slate Future Tense about the Amazon HQ2 finalists and how they compare in terms of energy:

"As 20 lucky cities advance to the final round of the Amazon HQ2 pageant, it’s worth considering what might tip the balance in any one place’s favor. Traffic? Access to talent? Affordable housing? Favorable tax incentives?

All of those considerations will surely be important, but cities looking to lure the tech giant’s new headquarters might also want to pay special attention to energy. On Page 4 of the HQ2 Request for Proposals, discreetly tucked under an “additional information” heading, Amazon talks about its preference for salvaged wood—and renewable energy.

That’s not just lip service. Amazon was the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in 2016, and it has committed to a target of 100 percent renewables. In the near term, that means outfitting 50 of its fulfilment centers across the country (there are more than 70 in the United States, according to Amazon) with rooftop solar by 2020 and adding 1 millionmegawatts of wind power in Texas. In 2016, the company filed an amicus brief in support of the Clean Power Plan, along with Apple, Google, and Microsoft."