IKEA owner buys 195MW solar parks in Australia

The three solar parks can generate 340GWh of electricity.

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of IKEA owner Ingka Group, has acquired two operational solar parks and one under development in New South Wales with a total capacity of 195 megawatts (MW) for $171.1m (EUR156m) from German solar PV developer Enerparc.

In a statement, Ingka Group said the two operational parks are in Peak Hill and Trundle, whilst the third plant is expected to be operational by 2025.

The three solar parks will produce around 340 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually which is equivalent to the consumption of around 65,000 households.

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“In addition to the recently acquired stake in a wind farm in Victoria, this is the next vital step towards reaching 100% renewable energy across all operations. We have ambitious targets when it comes to reducing our climate footprint across Ingka Group globally, and meaningful investment like this is leading the way," said IKEA Australia CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer Mirja Viinanen.

Ingka Investments has invested over $3.8b (EUR3.5b) into wind and solar power projects out of its $7.1b (EUR6.5b) initiative to support 100% renewable energy consumption in its value chain and beyond.

Ingka Group has so far committed to owning or owns 594 wind turbines, 22 solar parks across 18 countries, and over a million solar panels on the roofs of IKEA stores and warehouses which can produce over four terawatt hours of electricity.

$1 = EUR0.91