November 15, 2013
Alberta
Alberta
Furniture giant IKEA buys Alberta wind farm near Pincher Creek; Company aims to reduce environmental footprint
By Amanda Stephenson, Calgary Herald | November 14, 2013 | www.calgaryherald.com
By Amanda Stephenson, Calgary Herald | November 14, 2013 | www.calgaryherald.com
CALGARY – Furniture giant IKEA Canada announced today it has purchased a 46 MW wind farm near Pincher Creek, Alberta in an effort to reduce its environmental footprint.
The IKEA Group has already invested in wind farms in seven other markets – Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. But the Pincher Creek wind project – formally announced at a news conference at IKEA’s Calgary location Thursday – will be the retailer’s first wind farm in Canada.
The 20-turbine wind farm will be the largest owned by a Canadian retailer and is expected to generate 161 gigawatt hours each year, which is more than double the total energy consumption of IKEA Canada and represents approximately eight per cent of IKEA Group electricity consumption worldwide.
“This wind farm in Alberta, along with existing solar installations at three of our Ontario stores, is a significant step to achieving IKEA’s global ambition to be energy independent by 2020, producing more renewable energy than we consume,” said Kerri Molinaro, president of IKEA Canada, in a release.
The wind farm will be constructed and operated by Mainstream Renewable Power, an international wind and solar company based in Dublin, Ireland. The project will be Mainstream’s first foray into the Canadian wind energy market. Saad Qais, Mainstream Renewable Energy’s commercial manager for North America, said partnering with corporations who are committed to reducing their environmental impact is an exciting and growing part of his company’s global business.
Power generated from the project will be delivered onto Alberta’s energy grid. The wind farm is under construction now, and is expected to be operational by the fall of 2014.
More to come.