Swedish furniture manufacturer, IKEA, continue to put other ‘sustainable businesses’ in the shade, after officially opening their 35th solar project in South Florida. The project itself is the largest installation in South Florida and, when combined with IKEA store top solar projects in Orlando and Tampa, will make IKEA the state’s largest non-utility solar owner.
The figures attributed to the project are significant, it covers 101,774-square-feet and has 4,368 solar PV panels. The IKEA Sunrise’s program will produce approximately 1,554,600 kWh of clean electricity annually, eventually IKEA solar projects in the US will cover 90% of the company’s locations and generate 38 MW of energy.
IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems, as opposed to purchasing through a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) as Volkswagen has chosen to. As a company IKEA has allocated $1.8 billion to renewable energy investments until 2015. This investment reinforces IKEA’s long-term commitment to sustainability and confidence in photovoltaic (PV) technology, showing a leadership through action approach which should inspire residents in the UK who can now buy solar PV in store.
Store manager, Peter Steinweg, said of the IKEA Sunrise project:
“IKEA Sunrise now has added to the IKEA mission of creating a better everyday life for the many people, this solar array will reduce our carbon footprint and represents another investment by us in this community. We appreciate the support of the City of Sunrise, Florida P&L, and REC Solar, Inc. our partners in this project.”
© 2013 Solar Choice Pty Ltd
