IKEA TO INSTALL SOLAR
ON GRAND PRAIRIE STORE
IKEA plans to install solar panels atop its Grand Prairie store that is set to open this fall.
Panel installation will begin this summer and is expected to be finished in early fall for what will be the fourth IKEA solar array in Texas.
The store’s 181,500-square-foot solar array will consist of a 1.25 megawatt system built with 2,800 large-format panels and will produce about 2 million kilowatts of electricity annually for the store. That is equivalent to reducing 1,406 tons of carbon dioxide, equal to the emissions of 197 cars or providing electricity for 208 homes yearly.
For the development, design and installation of the new store’s solar power system, IKEA selected SunPower. MYCON Construction of McKinney is building the store.
“We are excited about furthering our sustainability commitment and a low-carbon society with solar panels on this Grand Prairie store,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “IKEA has a mission to create a better everyday life for the many, and IKEA Grand Prairie can add to this goal while also keeping us the largest nonutility private solar owner in Texas.”
This installation will represent the 48th solar project for IKEA in the United States, contributing to the solar presence atop nearly 90 percent of IKEA’s U.S. locations, with a total generation of more than 42 megawatts. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar photovoltaic energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or power purchase agreement – and globally it has allocated $2.5 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2020, reinforcing its confidence and investment in solar photovoltaic technology. 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 about 300 wind turbines, including 104 in the United States.
The 290,000-square-foot future IKEA Grand Prairie and its 1,100 parking spaces will be built on 30 acres along the eastern side of State Highway 161 and Mayfield Road, north of Interstate 20. A Fort Worth IKEA store is planned to open in the summer 2019.