Ikea has finished its first solar car park in the U.S. at the retail location in Baltimore. The solar panels have led to an 84% decrease in the amount of energy needed to be purchased for the location.

BALTIMORE – Ikea U.S. has completed its first solar car park in Baltimore and has plans to build an additional seven similar projects at Ikea stores at other locations in Maryland and California.

The Ikea solar installation initiative, which is being executed in partnership with Distributed Solar Development, focuses on adding solar panels to parking canopies and rooftop sites at Ikea stores.

The additional seven locations are on track to be completed in 2021 and include Ikea College Park in Maryland, as well as Ikea Burbank, Costa Mesa, East Palo Alto, Emeryville, San Diego and West Sacramento in California.

“We currently have 54 rooftop solar arrays on top of 90% of our Ikea U.S. locations, and the Ingka Group has invested in two solar parks with 403-megawatt capacity in Utah and Texas,” said Jennifer Keesson, Ikea Retail U.S. country sustainability manager. “This addition of eight solar projects is the latest in a series of investments Ikea has made in renewable energy and marks a significant step forward in our goals to be climate positive.”

Keesson said initial results have exceeded expectations as the Baltimore location has seen an 84% decrease in the amount of energy needed to be purchased between September and December 2020, equating to 57% energy cost savings for the store.

When completed, Ikea said the eight solar projects will collectively provide roughly 10.7 GwH of yearly production, which is the equivalent to taking 1,644 cars off the road in one year and planting more than 125,000 new trees.

Out of the eight projects, five of them include energy storage systems that allow the retail locations to store solar energy for later use, making clean energy available whenever it’s needed.

This announcement builds on the company’s investment in solar energy as Ikea works toward its goal of being powered by 100% renewable energy while increasing energy efficiency by 2025.

Anne covers the evolving landscape among retailers and manufacturers in the bedding, technology, e-commerce and disruptive retail segments.

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