IKEA acquires 165MW wind project in Texas

The IKEA Group has purchased its second wind farm in the United States from Apex Clean Energy, a 165 MW wind farm in Cameron County, Texas.

Cameron Wind is located in a particularly favorable wind area in the south of Texas, which is the leading state in the U.S. for wind energy production. The wind farm will be fully owned by the IKEA Group and will be constructed and managed by renewable energy company Apex Clean Energy. The project will use 55 Acciona Windpower 3-megawatt turbines.

This represents the single largest renewable energy investment made by the IKEA Group globally to date. The wind farm will contribute significantly to the IKEA Group 2020 goal of producing as much renewable energy as the total energy the company consumes globally.

The Cameron Wind farm is expected to be fully operational in late 2015.

Earlier this year IKEA Group announced its first U.S. wind farm purchase located in Hoopeston, Illinois. Together, the IKEA Hoopeston and Cameron wind farms are expected to generate nearly 1,000 gigawatt hours of electricity per year.

Rob Olson, IKEA US Acting President and CFO, stated:

"IKEA believes that the climate challenge requires bold commitment and action. We invest in renewable energy to become more sustainable as a business and also because it makes good business sense. And as a home furnishings retailer with sustainability in our roots, we are committed to providing products and solutions that help our customers be more sustainable in their everyday lives."

IKEA Group has now committed to own and operate 279 wind turbines in nine countries, and will invest a total of US$1.9 billion in wind and solar power up to the end of 2015.

IKEA renewable energy investments in the U.S. to date now include:

• 104 wind turbines located on wind farms in Hoopeston and Cameron;
• 165,000 solar panels installed on 90% of IKEA buildings across the U.S., providing an additional 38 megawatts installed capacity; and
• geothermal integrated into the heating and cooling systems of two U.S. store locations, in Centennial, Colorado, and Merriam, Kansas.