IKEA To Install Solar Array On St. Louis Store Opening Fall 2015
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
New solar array will be the largest rooftop solar array in Missouri
IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, has announced that it is expanding its company commitment to using solar energy by including plans for the largest solar array in Missouri on its St. Louis store scheduled to open in Fall 2015.
Installation of the panels will begin this spring on the roof of the 380,000 square-foot future IKEA St. Louis store, according to the press release. Inovateus Solar LLC, a South Bend, Indiana-based solar distributor, will install the system, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.
Construction has already begun, and the new store is scheduled to open in Fall 2015. Building costs for the store are approximately $50 million, plus the $30 million Ikea spent on the land, one of the most expensive land purchases of the second quarter of 2014.
The store is expected to hire about 300 employees, from management and sales to food service and customer service.
The 259,000-square foot solar array will consist of a 1.28-MW system, including 4,085 panels, producing 1,780,000 kWh of electricity a year for the store. It will save 1,227 tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of the emissions of 258 cars or electricity for 169 homes annually.
“We are excited about furthering our sustainability commitment with solar panels on the future St. Louis store,” said Rob Olson, IKEA U.S. CFO. “At IKEA, we have a mission to create a better everyday life for the many, and IKEA St. Louis can add to this goal with Missouri’s largest rooftop solar array.”
The installation is the 42nd solar project for IKEA in the United States, and the company now has solar presence on nearly 90 percent of its U.S. locations. IKEA owns and operates, rather than leasing, all of its solar equipment and the company has dedicated $1.8 billion globally to invest in renewable energy through 2015.
IKEA also announced last month plans to increase the solar array on its Detroit-area store located in Canton, Michigan. The store began construction of a 44,000-square-foot expansion to the store in September, and new solar panels will be installed this spring, with a target completion date sometime this summer.