IKEA US Solar Plans Near 89% with Two More Installations Proposed

June 22nd, 2012 by Nicholas Brown

IKEA, a very large retailer of low-cost household furniture, has announced plans to install solar panels on two more of its United States locations, both of which are distribution centres in the eastern section of the country.

Installation will commence this summer on the IKEA distribution centres in Perryville, Maryland, and Westampton.

The two distribution centres will have a combined 4.92 MW (4,920 kW) of solar electricity generation capacity. The 34,000+ panels are to facilitate the avoidance of 4,509 tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of removing 802 cars from roads, or providing clean energy to 510 homes annually.

This project is one of many IKEA clean energy projects that we have written about, and IKEA certainly is committed to this whole renewable energy goal that it set. It wants to obtain all of its energy from renewable sources, especially solar and wind, and it is on a fast track to achieving that goal.

An annual power generation of 5,933,200 kWh (5,293.2 MWh or 5.293 GWh) is expected from this project.

“We are excited at the opportunity to increase our U.S. solar presence further with solar energy systems atop these two east coast distribution centers,” said Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. president.

IKEA currently has 17 U.S solar system installations, and the two new systems mentioned above will increase its combined generation capacity to 38 MW (38,000 KW).

“With only 44 locations nationwide, we try to contribute whenever and wherever possible to creating a better everyday life for the many. These plans for installing solar panels on the roofs of two additional distribution centers demonstrate that our sustainable commitment extends beyond just stores, into all facets of the retail operations.”

Source: Business Wire
Photo Credit: ICMA Photos

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Tags: ikea, ikea solar, photovoltaic panels, photovoltaic power plant

About the Author

Nicholas Brown writes on CleanTechnica, Gas2, Kleef&Co, and Green Building Elements. He has a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, and geography. His website is: Kompulsa.com.

http://www.facebook.com/jeff.king.14224 Jeff King

Now if we could just get walmart, target, burger king, Mcdonalds, and many other chain stores and fast food joints to follow their lead
- Bob_Wallace
  
  I’m very uncomfortable saying anything good about Walmart. They are currently destroying some of our local businesses.
  
  But Walmart has installed a lot of solar on their buildings and do seem to be taking efficiency seriously.
  - http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
    
    i think they realized it’s good business sense… and they don’t mind the little bit of good publicity they can get of course.