IKEA, a home furnishings retailer, announced that its future San Antonio-area store will be equipped with solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations when it opens winter 2019 in Live Oak, TX.
About 90% of U.S. IKEA locations use solar power.
IKEA Live Oak will feature a 245,000-square-foot solar array, which will consist of a 1.72-MW system, built with 4,986 panels and produce approximately 2,510,000 kWh of electricity annually for the store. That’s the equivalent of reducing 1,868 metric tons of CO2—equal to the emissions of 400 cars or providing electricity for 280 homes yearly.
For the development, design and installation of the new store’s solar power system, IKEA selected REC Solar, a solar provider responsible for 580 systems built across the U.S.
In addition, the store will have three Blink electric vehicle charging stations. This initiative reflects the continued partnership between IKEA and Blink Charging Co., an owner, operator and provider of electric vehicle charging stations products and EV charging services with thousands of public charging stations in the U.S.
“We are excited to further our sustainability commitment with the installation of solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations at the future Live Oak store,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “At IKEA, we have a mission to create a better everyday life for the many, and IKEA Live Oak can add to this goal by installing the second-largest solar rooftop array in the San Antonio area.”
This installation will represent the 55th solar project for IKEA in the U.S., and contribute to the company’s solar presence atop nearly 90% of its U.S. locations, with a total generation of more than 56 MW. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings—as opposed to a solar lease or PPA—and has allocated $2.5 billion globally to invest in renewable energy through 2020. Consistent with the goal of being energy independent by 2020, IKEA has installed more than 750,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns approximately 441 wind turbines, including 104 in the U.S.
The 289,000-square-foot future IKEA Live Oak store will reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. It will be built on 31 acres at the southwest corner of Interstate 35 and Loop 1604, approximately 15 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio.
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