Ikea’s store in St. Louis to feature Missouri’s largest solar array

St. Louis -- Ikea plans to install solar energy panels on its 380,000-sq-ft. St. Louis store, due to open in fall 2015. Panel installation will begin this spring, with completion before the store’s opening, making the project the largest rooftop solar array in the State of Missouri.



The store’s 259,000-sq.-ft. solar array will consist of a 1.28-MW system, built with 4,085 panels, and will produce approximately 1,780,000 kWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent to reducing 1,227 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).



For the development, design and installation of its customized solar power system, Ikea selected Inovateus Solar LLC, a solar power distributor and integrator specializing in large-scale solar installations.



This installation will represent the 42nd solar project for Ikea in the U.S, contributing to the Ikea solar presence atop nearly 90% of its U.S. locations, with a total generation goal of 40 MW. Ikea owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) – and globally has allocated $1.8 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015, reinforcing its confidence and investment in solar photovoltaic technology. 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 157 wind turbines in Europe and Canada, with 104 more being built in the U.S.