Ikea goes solar in Emeryville, Calif.

Emeryville, Calif. -- Ikea officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its East Bay store in Emeryville, Calif. The 68,000-sq.-ft. photovoltaic array consists of a 538-kW system, built with approximately 2,394 panels.



The installation will produce approximately 760,300 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 578 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), eliminating the emissions of 103 cars or powering 64 homes yearly.



The investment by Ikea to purchase its solar photovoltaic energy system, and to install and operate it atop the Emeryville store it owns, will lower the carbon intensity of the electrical grid. It represents the 11th completed solar energy project for Ikea in the United States. Additional installations currently are underway at one other Ikea location in California as well as eight more in the Eastern U.S.



For the development, design and installation of this customized solar power system, Ikea contracted with Gloria Solar, the U.S. operating group focused on the photovoltaic business within the family of E-Ton Solar Group. This project is the third Ikea installation in the 70,000-square-mile service area of PG&E.