Home furnishings giant IKEA has officially plugged in an expanded solar energy array atop its Detroit-area store, which opened nine years ago in Canton, Mich. The 40,000-square-foot solar panel addition makes the store’s array 25% larger and consists of a 242.1 kW system built with 781 panels.
This solar expansion sits atop a store extension completed this past spring. Now, IKEA Canton’s total 1,219.7 kW solar installation of 4,941 panels will generate 1,408,445 kWh of clean electricity annually.
“We are pleased our newly expanded store created the opportunity to extend the rooftop solar array,” says Matt Hunsicker, store manager. “We are proud to make this investment, to grow our local sustainable footprint and to contribute to the IKEA goal of energy independence.”
For the development, design and installation of this store’s enhanced solar power system, IKEA selected Inovateus Solar LLC, a solar power distributor and integrator specializing in large-scale installations.
Expanding this array contributes to the IKEA solar presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations, with a total generation goal of 40 MW. IKEA notes it owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or power purchase agreement – and globally allocated $1.9 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015.
Consistent with the goal of being energy independent by 2020, IKEA has installed more than 700,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns approximately 300 wind turbines, including 104 in the U.S.
