Ikea and Hanergy to cooperate on solar power generation

• 10 years ago (2013-07-06)
• David Flin

Asia 848 Europe 1061 North America 998 Renewables 752

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Swedish home furniture giant Ikea Group is cooperating with the Chinese solar panel company Hanergy Holdings Group on a grid-connected solar power generation project for all the Ikea stores in China as well as Ikea’s selected suppliers. The partnership will also expand to the global market. Later this month, Hanergy will sell solar power generation equipment to Ikea’s customers in the UK.

According to Ikea, the thin-film photovoltaic panels already installed on the rooftops of five Ikea stores in Beijing, Shenzhen, Dalian, Nanjing, and Shenyang, once put into operation, will provide 10-15 per cent of all the electricity needed to run the stores. The solar panels will soon be installed in Ikea’s other stores in China, including the company’s distribution centre. In addition, more than 60 selected suppliers among Ikea’s 350 global sourcing partners in China will also start to install Hanergy’s photovoltaic panels on their buildings.

Angela Zhu, Retail Manager of Ikea China, said that the move is part of Ikea’s goal to promote energy efficiency and emissions reduction. She said: “The project will help achieve our target of using 100 per cent renewable energy to power our buildings.”

In addition, Ikea also signed an agreement with Hanergy that from 22 July, Ikea’s stores in the UK will start to sell Hanergy’s 3-5kW solar energy generation equipment for domestic use. According to Jason Chow, head of Hanergy’s global investment and sales operations, the company’s solar energy equipment will be available in 18 Ikea stores in the UK this year, and will be in more Ikea stores in 10 European countries and in North America next year.