Isra-Mart srl:Ikea furnishes Swedish wind portfolio

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Furniture giant Ikea has unveiled plans to build a wind farm that would power 17 of its Swedish stores, continuing its expansion into renewable energy.

The company previously invested in renewable energy by purchasing several existing wind farms, but this is its first bespoke development.

The nine-turbine wind farm will be built in the central province of Dalarna, the company said in a statement. Stockholm-based wind developer O2 Vind AB will construct the farm, which should produce 70GWh of electricity from early next year.

"A wind park in Sweden gives us a long-term source for renewable energy," said Peter Agnefjaell, head of Ikea Sweden. "It also gives us the possibility to transfer the financial benefit of electricity from our own wind power park to lower prices which will benefit our customers."

Ikea did not detail how much it plans to spend on the project, but an O2 Vind spokeswoman told business news agency Bloomberg the project would cost "several million kronor".

The company bought six German wind farms in 2010, and four in France the year before, taking its total capacity to 93MW.

The 52 wind turbines produce enough energy to cover 10 per cent of the group's electricity needs, and Ylva Magnusson, a company spokeswoman, told Bloomberg it was likely to expand the idea to other markets as it looks to cut carbon emissions.

While Sainsbury's indicated its plans to install on-site renewable generation last year, UK retailers have tended to sign deals with green electricity companies rather than build their own renewable energy plants.

Speaking to BusinessGreen, a spokeswoman for Ikea UK could not confirm whether or not any wind farm developments were planned in this country.