the company is thus acquiring nine photovoltaic projects in Germany and Spain from the solar power specialist Enerparc. Many of Ikea's locations in Germany are already equipped with photovoltaic systems and supply their own operations with renewable energy. And Ikea Germany is going one step further: together with its partner Svea Solar, the company is making it easy and affordable for its customers* to switch to solar energy at home.
Investing in a better climate
Ingka Group wants to accelerate the use of renewable energy in the long term. To achieve this, Ingka Investments keeps investing in promising projects. The investment of around 340 million euros in nine photovoltaic plants in Germany and Spain aims to ensure that all Ikea stores and warehouses in the two countries can be supplied with solar energy in the future.
"We are pleased to announce this important initiative that will support the use of electricity from renewable sources in Germany and Spain. This is another step to accelerate our energy generation in Europe and North America. With our own solar and wind farms, we aim to make renewable energy available to the entire Ikea value chain and produce more than we consume," explains Krister Mattsson, Managing Director of Ingka Investments.
440 MW PV projects in Germany and Spain
These projects in Germany and Spain are part of an early investment phase and are expected to be ready for construction by the end of 2022. Construction is expected to be completed in 2023. The energy capacity of the parks will consist of 300 MW distributed among four projects in Germany and 140 MW distributed among five projects in Spain. The expected production of the photovoltaic plants in Germany and Spain is equivalent to the electricity consumption of around 140,000 European households.
"This partnership pays off our committed strategy to develop a total of 10 GW by 2030 through photovoltaic plants for our own portfolio and for third parties. It is a wonderful signal that Ingka Group and ENERPARC have joined forces to contribute to a world of climate-neutral energy production," said Christoph Koeppen, CEO and chairman of Enerparc AG.
Partnership with Svea Solar
Ikea has made it its mission to become climate positive globally by 2030. In other words, the company will reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than it emits along its value chain. An important milestone has already been reached in Germany: since 2020, Ikea has been generating more renewable energy in this country than it consumes in its entire operations. To achieve this goal, the company has set up photovoltaic systems at many German sites in recent years. By now, 19 IKEA stores and warehouse facilities can already generate electricity with solar energy. More will follow in the coming years.
Ikea additionally wants to enable as many people as possible to live a more sustainable life at home and gain access to renewable energy. That's why the company has teamed up with Swedish photovoltaic specialist Svea Solar in Germany to develop a simple as well as affordable offering that will give even more people the opportunity to invest in solar energy at home. Svea Solar has now expanded Solstrale, which includes a photovoltaic system and its own battery storage. In the future, customers will also have the option of booking a charging station for easy and intelligent charging of their electric car with solar energy. (hcn)
Also useful: Solar irradiation data for all European regions
