Monday 1 August 2011

Ikea buys Scottish wind farm

Ikea Group, the world’s biggest home-furnishings retailer, bought a wind farm in Scotland and plans to install 39,000 solar panels on its UK stores as part of a goal to get all of its energy from renewable sources.

Ikea bought a 12.3-mw wind farm in Huntly, northeast Scotland, from Good Energies Capital, chief sustainability officer Steve Howard said. That’s enough to cover 30% of Ikea’s UK electricity use. The solar panels, totaling 2.1 mw, will be fitted on 10 stores, providing an average of 5% of each shop’s power, he said.

The Huntly purchase adds to wind farms the company already owns in Denmark, France and Germany. By building up a renewables portfolio, Ikea is seeking to reduce its exposure to fluctuating energy prices, which cost the company 1.2 billion euros ($1.7 billion) to 1.5 billion euros a year, Howard said.

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