Ikea looks to windfarm to power stores

Flatpack giant Ikea is buying a windfarm to power its mammoth stores in Belfast and Dublin. The Swedish retailer said four large turbines in Carrickeeny, in Co Leitrim, will go into operation next year.

They will generate 25GWh of electricity. That is the same energy as is needed to power 5,500 houses a year.

Joanna Yarrow, of Ikea, said the move would help cut costs, as well as reduce its carbon footprint.

“Companies, individuals or governments — we all have responsibility to address the resource dilemma and commit to a more sustainable future,” she said.

“Producing our own affordable, renewable electricity gets us one step closer to becoming completely energy-independent by 2020, while ensuring our commercial success.”

Last year, Ikea unveiled its plan to be 100% clean energy-fuelled by 2020.

The sustainability project will see it pump e1.5bn into wind and solar energy sources. Ikea has two outlets in Ireland: Ballymun in Dublin and near Belfast’s George Best City Airport.

The windfarms in Co Leitrim will power the stores for the next two decades, the company said. The world’s biggest furniture retailer said it was one of the first corporate businesses in Ireland to operate a windfarm in this way.

Electricity generated by the turbines will be sold to energy supplier Vayu, which will power the Dublin and Belfast stores under a 15-year contract.

Ikea owns more than 100 windfarms in the UK, Germany, France, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.