World's largest Ikea retailer invests in Irish offshore wind-farm projects

The group said it will take a 20% stake in the wind project portfolio of Source Galileo which has previously announced five offshore wind-farm projects in Ireland

Source Galileo is planning five offshore wind projects around Irish coasts which are expected to be completed between 2030 and 2031. 

Ingka Group, the single largest Ikea franchisee in the world, has announced that it will be investing in a portfolio of offshore wind projects located in Ireland and the UK.

The group said it will take a 20% stake in the wind project portfolio of Source Galileo — a London and Dublin-based renewable energy company.

Source Galileo is currently developing 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore electricity and hydrogen production off the northwestern coasts of Europe. A GW as a measure of electrical power is equal to one billion watts with a single GW potentially able to power up to one million homes.

The Government’s Climate Action Plan is seeking to have up to 8GW of onshore and 5GW of offshore wind power connected to the grid by 2030 in order to reach its target of 80% of electricity generation from renewables.

Source Galileo chief executive Kevin Lynch said the investment from Ingka group is “transformational for offshore wind in Britain and Ireland”.

“The UK has committed to deploy 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, up from 14GW now," Mr Lynch said. 

"Ireland too is expected to develop at least 20GW of offshore wind by 2040, starting from pilot projects today, as a contribution to meet Europe’s climate goals.” 

The commitment from Ingka Investments, in partnership with Source Galileo, to help deliver on these targets is enormous.

In the longer term, the Irish Government is targeting 37GW of electricity from offshore wind generation by 2050.

According to the group Wind Energy Ireland, during September wind power generation provided 32% of the country’s electricity needs compared to 25% last year.

Source Galileo has previously announced five offshore wind-farm projects in Ireland — two of which will be located in the Celtic Sea, one is set to be located off the coast of Cork, one off the coasts of Wicklow and Wexford, with the final one being set up near Malin Head in Donegal.

All these projects are expected to be completed between 2030 and 2031.

The Ingka group is based out of the Netherlands but is primarily known for operating Ikea stores across 31 different markets. 

Despite Ikea and Ingka being founded by the same person, Ingar Kamprad, Ingka does not own the Ikea brand, instead it operates as a franchise.

All Ikea franchisees pay a 3% franchise fee to the Ikea parent company. Ingka generates 90% of Ikea’s sales.