The farm is currently under construction, will be completed in 2015

Apr 11, 2014 19:31 GMT  ·  By

Not many know this, but Swedish company IKEA is determined to become energy independent by the end of the decade. To this end, the company is investing heavily in renewables and will likely become even more interested in green energy sources in the near future.

As part of its efforts to green up its act, IKEA has recently bought a wind farm in Illinois, US. According to Business Green, the facility is located at a distance of about 100 miles (177 kilometers) south of Chicago.

Interestingly enough, it would appear that IKEA's brand-new wind farm represents the largest single green energy investment that the company has until now been documented to make.

Despite the fact that it now officially owns this wind farm, IKEA cannot for the time being actually use it. This is because the facility is still under construction and will only be completed and become operational sometime in the first half of 2015.

Information shared with the public says that, when it does become operational, this wind farm will have a clean energy generating capacity of 98MW. This means that it will cough out some 380GWh of electricity on a yearly basis.

Specialists working with IKEA estimate that this predicted green energy output is the equivalent of 165% of the overall electricity consumption of the company's 38 stores in the United States. What's more, it accounts for 18% of the total amount of power that IKEA facilities across the world go through on a yearly basis.

Commenting on the company's decision to invest in acquiring this 98MW wind farm, IKEA chief financial officer Rob Olson said, “We invest in our own renewable energy sources so that we can control our exposure to fluctuating electricity costs and continue providing great value to our customers.”

“We are committed to renewable energy and to running our business in a way that minimizes our carbon emissions, not only because of the environmental impact, but also because it makes good financial sense,” Rob Olson added.

The IKEA Group is said to have purchased this wind farm in Illinois as part of a clean energy investments program whose value is one of $2 billion (€1.44 billion).

As part of this program, the company has also installed 550,000 solar panels on buildings it owns and operates in as many as nine countries. Besides, IKEA is said to currently be the owner of as many as 206 wind turbines that are up and running in eight countries.