IKEA owner Ingka Group has reached an agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to acquire 49% stakes in two solar farms in Utah and Texas totalling 403MW, its first off-site PV investments in the US.
Ingka Group currently owns and operates 900,000 rooftop solar panels on IKEA stores, distribution centres and other buildings worldwide.
The new investments will consist of 636,000 panels in Utah, coming online later this month, and 823,000 panels in Texas expected to start operating in January.
The company already has renewable energy investments in the US, including two wind farms in Illinois and Texas, solar panels at 90% of its locations, geothermal projects at two stores and biogas-powered fuel cell systems.
Ingka Investments managing director Krister Mattsson said: “Investing in renewable energy is an important part of our financial assets management strategy, as it fully supports our sustainability commitments.
“We are delighted to extend our portfolio to now include utility scale solar parks in addition to our two wind farms in the US, bringing us closer to reaching our goal of renewable energy production exceeding our energy consumption.”
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners senior partner Christian Skakkebaek said: “CIP is pleased to enter into this long-term partnership with Ingka Group, a company that shares a similar perspective as CIP on the importance of clean energy resources.
“Combining CIP’s industrial background and asset management expertise with Ingka Group’s ambitious corporate sustainability goals, our partnership will provide low cost and renewable power to the Texas and Utah markets.”