IKEA U.S. has completed the installation of Illinois’ largest solar rooftop on its Midwest distribution center under construction in Joliet.
Combined with arrays atop the Chicago-area IKEA stores in Bolingbrook and Schaumburg, Illinois, this third project will make IKEA the owner of three of the state’s largest solar rooftop installations.
The distribution center’s 268,920-square-foot solar array consists of a 2.85 MW system, built with 9,036 panels, and will produce approximately 3,377,000 kWh of electricity annually for the facility, the equivalent of reducing 2,513 tons of carbon dioxide – equal to the emissions of 538 cars or providing electricity for 377 homes yearly.
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 $2.5 billion to invest in renewable energy through 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, 49 of which are in Hoopeston, Illinois.
Under construction on 72 acres at the Laraway Crossings Business Park, the future 1.25-million-square-foot distribution center in Joliet will enhance the IKEA distribution network with a central location allowing goods to be received at coastal ports from both Asia and Europe and then transported inland to the Joliet facility.
