CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it has continued its renewable energy commitment by installing biogas-powered fuel cell systems at two Southern California stores, in Costa Mesa and Covina. More than a year ago, IKEA installed such a project at IKEA Emeryville, one of the Swedish company’s two San Francisco-area stores. In addition to these southern California projects, IKEA also is planning fuel cell systems at its other San Francisco-area store (in East Palo Alto), as well as its store in San Diego and in New Haven, CT. In total, IKEA will generate 1.5 MW of energy via fuel cells, supplementing onsite solar arrays atop all these stores.
“Plugging-in this fuel cell system is an exciting milestone that complements our existing rooftop solar array,” said Laurie Helm, Costa Mesa store manager. Paul Gandara, Covina store manager, added “Utilizing fuel cells will reduce greatly our carbon footprint and help create an even more sustainable community here in Southern California.”
For the design, development and installation of these two newly installed fuel cell systems, IKEA contracted with Sunnyvale-based Bloom Energy, a provider of breakthrough solid oxide fuel cell technology generating clean, highly-efficient on-site power.
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Costa Mesa store – opened in 2003; store size: 308,000 SF on 24
acres
FUEL CELL PROGRAM: 300 kW generating 2,497,651 kWh/year
Equivalent to reducing 1,315 tons of CO2, 278 cars’ emissions or powering 194 homes
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Covina store – opened in 2003; store size: 325,000 SF on 12.5
acres
FUEL CELL PROGRAM: 200 kW generating 1,665,101 kWh/year
Equivalent to reducing 877 tons of CO2, 185 cars’ emissions or powering 130 homes
Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, no plastic bags in the check-out process, and selling only LED bulbs/fixtures. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 14 locations and solar arrays at 90% of its locations, integrated two geothermal projects at two store locations and owns two wind farms.
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at affordable prices. There are currently more than 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA has been ranked among “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.
