IKEA to Install Solar Panels on Joliet Distribution Center

JOLIET, IL — IKEA has announced plans to install solar panels on its Midwest distribution center under construction in Joliet. Installation will begin in Spring 2017, with completion expected in Fall 2017 for Illinois’ largest rooftop array, according to a news release from the company.

The distribution center’s 470,545-square-foot solar array will consist of a 2.91 MW system, built with 8,966 panels, and will produce approximately 3,411,600 kWh of electricity annually for the facility, the equivalent of reducing 2,398 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) – equal to the emissions of 506 cars or providing electricity for 354 homes yearly.

For the development, design and installation of the facility’s solar power system, IKEA selected SoCore Energy, a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Edison International that has designed and installed hundreds of solar solutions across 21 states. Gray Construction is managing the construction of the Joliet distribution center, which will receive and inventory goods sold at IKEA stores worldwide.

“We are excited to further our sustainability commitment with solar panels on our future Midwest distribution center,” said Lars Peterson, IKEA U.S. president, in a news release. “Installing Illinois’ largest rooftop array advances our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many.”

Under construction on 72 acres at the Laraway Crossings Business Park, the future 1.25-million-square-foot distribution center in Joliet will enhance the IKEA distribution network with a central location allowing goods to be received at coastal ports from both Asia and Europe and then transported inland to the Joliet facility. The proximity to a nearby railroad intermodal will represent additional long-term transportation options, too. IKEA also is planning another, similarly-sized facility on 62 acres adjacent to the one currently being built. The timing for construction of the second building remains to be determined.

Combined with arrays atop the Chicago-area IKEA stores in Bolingbrook and Schaumburg, this third project will make IKEA owner of three of the state’s largest solar rooftop installations.

photo courtesy of IKEA