Ingka Group, which owns furniture retailer Ikea, has taken a stake in a large wind farm in Australia.
The group’s investment arm has taken a 15% stake in the A$2bn (€1.3bn) 756MW stage one of TagEnergy’s Golden Plains Wind Farm near Geelong, Victoria.
It marks Ingka Investments’ first investment in utility scale renewable energy in Australia and will help it secure access to renewable energy in Ikea Retail countries in Asia.
The overall project has a total planned capacity of 1.3GW and consists of two stages.
Stage one of the project, with 122 turbines, reached financial close in November 2022.
All construction contracts are underway, and the facility is expected to be fully operating by the end of 2025.
Pro-rata to the ownership stake, Ingka Investments will be able to claim up to 15% of the project output of electricity and Renewable Energy Attributes and link it to the local Ingka Climate Footprint.
TagEnergy and the original developer Westwind are also preparing for construction of stage two (576MW with 93 turbines) and a 300MW battery storage facility that will add flexibility and stability to the electricity grid.
Ingka Group, through its investment arm Ingka Investments, has committed to expanding its investments in renewable energy to €6.5bn as the next step towards 100% renewable energy across the value chain.
It is now looking to expand its renewable energy portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region where Ingka Group has retail operations in Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea.
Peter van der Poel, managing director of Ingka Investments, said: “Sustainability investments are a growth sector, where doing good business and being a good business comes together, and therefore are also a core strategic priority for Ingka Group.
“It is about making the necessary investments to meet sustainability goals and support the IKEA transition to become climate positive and transition to a circular business model, through offering affordable solutions enabling people to live within the planetary boundaries.”