Ikea to Power 17 Stores with Wind Energy

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

An Ikea spokeswoman told Bloomberg that the investment will cost several hundred million kronor – tens of millions of dollars. Ikea has 52 wind turbines in Germany and France. Those wind power facilities generate about ten percent of the company’s electricity in the two countries, Bloomberg said.

The retailer may install wind turbines in more markets, the spokeswoman said. Last year Ikea announced that it will begin solar photovoltaic rooftop installations on two East Coast stores in Paramus, New Jersey and Stoughton, Massachusetts, in early 2011.

IKEA has plans to install solar energy panels on eight of its California locations and it already has solar energy systems operational in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Tempe, Ariz. as well as solar water heating systems in Charlotte, N.C.; Draper, Utah, Orlando, Fla. and Tampa, Fla. The company is also installing a geothermal energy system at a store under construction in Centennial, Colorado.

www.ikea.com