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Ikea uses sun, wind to become energy independent Wendy Koch, USA TODAY 22 Oct 12 As more U.S. businesses embrace renewable energy, IKEA plans to announce Tuesday that it will rely on the sun and the wind to produce all the power it uses at its stores and buildings by 2020. –

Energy
independence by 2020? The idea has been touted on the U.S.
presidential campaign trail, but global home furnishings retailer Ikea
is announcing plans Tuesday to achieve that goal with solar and wind
power.

As more U.S. businesses go solar, the Swedish retailer says it will
rely on the sun and wind to produce all the power it uses at its
stores and buildings worldwide within a decade. It plans to install
more rooftop solar panels, erect wind farms and reduce its energy
usage by replacing 1.2 million incandescent light bulbs with
85%-more-efficient LEDs (light-emitting diodes.)

“Each roof is a power station in the making,” says Steve Howard, Ikea
Group’s chief sustainability officer, adding that the United States
has “fantastic sun … as good as anywhere in the world.” Ikea already
has solar panels atop 34 of its 38 U.S. stores and distribution
centers.

Howard says parts of the U.S. also have great wind potential, and
Ikea, which is building wind farms abroad, would like one stateside.
“But we find the policy environment rather choppy,” he says.
Production tax credits for the U.S. wind industry are set to expire in
December unless Congress renews them…..
s Ikea, which phased out plastic bags in 2007 and stopped selling
incandescent bulbs in 2010, believes energy independence is “the right
thing to do,” not only because it’s concerned about climate change but
also because it wants to protect itself against higher energy prices
in the future.

“Sustainability will decide the winners and losers in the business
community,” Howard says.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has talked about North American
energy independence by 2020, but his agenda has focused on getting
there by expanding domestic oil, gas and coal production. He’s called
for phasing out subsidies for solar and wind, which President Obama
has supported.

Renewables may be out of favor in some political circles, but “it’s
corporations that are pushing the boundaries” to embrace them, says
Ron Pernick, author of Clean Tech Nation: How the U.S. Can Lead in the
New Global Economy. Because of the recent plunge in prices for buying
and installing solar panels, he says Ikea’s goals are “achievable.”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/22/ikea-energy-independence-solar-wind/1649777/

October 23, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general