IKEA Outfits Two East Coast Stores with Solar Panels

Home furnishings retailer IKEA will begin solar rooftop installations on two East Coast stores in Paramus, New Jersey and Stoughton, Massachusetts. The project will begin in early 2011 with completion expected by spring.

The solar energy system at the Paramus location will install 132,000 sq. ft., 4,600 panels expected to generate 1,354,000 kWh/year at 1,058 kW. The project is calculated to reduce the equivalent of 1,072 tons of CO2 emissions.

The project at the Stoughton location will cover 79,000 sq. ft., at 630 kW; 2,800 panels expected to generate 725,000 kWh/year. The project is calculated to reduce the equivalent of 574 tons of CO2 emissions.

For these Paramus and Stoughton projects, IKEA contracted with REC Solar, a solar electric installer specialized in grid-tied solar electric design and installation.

The project will increase to 13 the number of IKEA retail locations outfitted with a solar energy resource, and the two east coast projects are the largest store-top solar installations for IKEA in the U.S.

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 Centennial, Colo. store under construction will have a geothermal system.

In addition, IKEA Canada claims its new solar initiative will make it the first retailer to exclusively own, install and operate what will be the largest rooftop solar panel network in Ontario under a feed-in tariff (FIT) program.  source: environmental leader


make your own solar panels


Join The Green Club




Share

IKEA Claims Largest Retail Rooftop Solar Installation in Canada

IKEA Canada claims its new solar initiative will make it the first retailer to exclusively own, install and operate what will be the largest rooftop solar panel network in Ontario under the feed-in tariff (FIT) program. The retailer will invest $4.6 million to install rooftop solar panels at three of its Ontario stores in Etobicoke, North York and Vaughan. They are expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.

IKEA Canada says it will currently own what is believed to be the largest rooftop solar installation by a retailer in Canada.

In total, the three stores will install 3,790 solar panels, which will generate a total of about 960,000 kWh per year of renewable energy that will be fed back into the grid.

IKEA Canada will use SANYO HIT Power solar panels and has selected AMP Solar for the installations at all three locations. The retailer has received contracts from the Ontario Power Authority and qualifies for the FIT program under Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

These Ontario installations will help IKEA meet its global commitment of 150 solar installations over the next three years. IKEA customers will have access to real-time energy production information, and will be able to quantify carbon emission reductions via in-store kiosks.

In the U.S., IKEA plans to install a solar energy system that will generate about one million kWh of electricity at its retail store in Tempe, Arizona. Scheduled to start in May, the 46,000-sq.-ft. installation will consist of two 300-kWh systems, each built with approximately 1,300 panels (for a total 2,600).

This is IKEA’s third solar project in the U.S. One system is operational in Pittsburgh, Pa., and the other installation is underway in Brooklyn, N.Y.    Courtesy of Environmental Leader


make your own solar panels


Join The Green Club





Share