IKEA to build nine wind turbines wind farm

The company previously invested in renewable energy by purchasing several existing wind energy plants but this is its first bespoke development.

The nine wind turbines wind farm will be built in the central province of Dalarna. Stockholm-based wind power developer O2 Vind AB will construct thewind energy plant, which should produce 70 GWh of electricity from early next year.

"A wind farm in Sweden gives us a long-term source for renewable energy," said Peter Agnefjaell, head of Ikea Sweden. "It also gives us the possibility to transfer the financial benefit of electricity from our own wind power plant to lower prices which will benefit our customers."

Ikea did not detail how much it plans to spend on the project, but an O2 Vind spokeswoman told news agency Bloomberg the project would cost "several million kronor". The company bought six German wind farms in 2010, and four in France the year before, taking its total capacity to 93 MW.

The 52 wind turbines produce enough energy to cover 10 per cent of the group’s electricity needs, and Ylva Magnusson, a company spokeswoman, told Bloomberg it was likely to expand the idea to other markets as it looks to cut carbon emissions.

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