Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, acquires nine solar PV park projects in Germany and Spain from solar PV developer, ENERPARC. The total investment in the solar PV development portfolio will amount to approximately EUR 340 million.
The expected energy capacity of the solar PV parks equals 300 megawatts in Germany across four solar PV development projects and 140 megawatts in Spain across five solar PV development projects. The expected production of the solar PV parks in Germany and Spain is equivalent to the electricity consumption of roughly 140,000 European households and will generate the equivalent of electricity consumption in all IKEA stores and warehouses in the two countries.
“We are delighted to be announcing this important initiative to enable renewable electricity consumption in Germany and Spain, which is another step in accelerating our energy production in Europe and North America. With our own solar parks and wind farms, we want to make renewable energy available throughout the IKEA value chain and beyond” says Krister Mattsson, Managing Director, Ingka Investments.
The projects are at early stages and are expected to become ready for construction at the end of 2022, continuing into 2023. The construction itself will take roughly six months.
As part of a EUR 6.5 billion initiative to support of 100% renewable energy consumption across the value chain and beyond, Ingka Investments has invested and committed more than EUR 2.7 billion into renewable energy projects in wind and solar power.
The development of the solar PV parks in Germany and Spain are part of IKEA’s commitment of becoming climate positive* by 2030 by reducing more GHG emissions than the IKEA value chain emits, while also simultaneously growing the IKEA business. As the biggest retailer in the IKEA franchisee system, Ingka Group’s contribution is key to the successful accomplishment of the 2030 goals.
“This partnership is in line with our dedicated strategy to develop a total of 10 GW solar PV plants for our own portfolio and third-party portfolios until 2030. It is a wonderful signal that Ingka Group and ENERPARC have joined forces to contribute to a world of carbon-neutral energy generation.” says Christoph Koeppen, CEO and chairman of the board at ENERPARC AG.
Today, Ingka Group owns and manages 547 wind turbines in 14 countries, 10 solar parks and 935,000 solar panels on the roofs of IKEA stores and warehouses. Together, this produces more than 4 TWh, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 1 million European households.
Read more about Ingka Group’s sustainability performance and commitments in the new Annual & Sustainability Summary report.
*IKEA climate positive means to reduce more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the IKEA value chain emits by 2030, while growing the IKEA business. IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This includes a commitment to halve the absolute net GHG emissions from the total IKEA value chain by 2030. We will achieve this by drastically reducing GHG emissions through science-based targets and by removing carbon from the atmosphere through natural processes and storing it in land, plants and products through better forest and agriculture management within the IKEA value chain. We will contribute to further greenhouse emission reductions in society by going beyond IKEA, such as enabling customers to generate renewable energy at home. Read more about the IKEA commitment here.
