Home furnishings retailer IKEA will begin solar rooftop installations on two East Coast stores in Paramus, New Jersey and Stoughton, Massachusetts. The project will begin in early 2011 with completion expected by spring.
The solar energy system at the Paramus location will install 132,000 sq. ft., 4,600 panels expected to generate 1,354,000 kWh/year at 1,058 kW. The project is calculated to reduce the equivalent of 1,072 tons of CO2 emissions.
The project at the Stoughton location will cover 79,000 sq. ft., at 630 kW; 2,800 panels expected to generate 725,000 kWh/year. The project is calculated to reduce the equivalent of 574 tons of CO2 emissions.
For these Paramus and Stoughton projects, IKEA contracted with REC Solar, a solar electric installer specialized in grid-tied solar electric design and installation.
The project will increase to 13 the number of IKEA retail locations outfitted with a solar energy resource, and the two east coast projects are the largest store-top solar installations for IKEA in the U.S.
IKEA has plans to install solar energy panels on eight of its California locations and it already has solar energy systems operational in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Tempe, Ariz. as well as solar water heating systems in Charlotte, N.C.; Draper, Utah, Orlando, Fla. and Tampa, Fla. The Centennial, Colo. store under construction will have a geothermal system.
In addition, IKEA Canada claims its new solar initiative will make it the first retailer to exclusively own, install and operate what will be the largest rooftop solar panel network in Ontario under a feed-in tariff (FIT) program.