West Chester Twp: The world's leading home furnishings retailer will activate 4,186 solar panels Tuesday morning atop its 344,000-square-foot Butler County location.
IKEA West Chester's 128,000-square-foot photovoltaic array consists of a 1,026-kilowatt system that will produce approximately 1,334,300 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually.
That's the equivalent of reducing 1,014 tons of carbon dioxide, eliminating the emissions of 180 cars, or powering 115 homes yearly, according to Environmental Protection Agency clean energy equivalents.
The solar energy system marks IKEA's 14th such project in the United States, according to IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth. Twenty-three additional projects are underway nationwide.
"IKEA has always had a strong commitment to the environment and to incorporate sustainable measures into our day-to-day operations," Roth said. "We were the first major retailer to eliminate the availability of plastic bags for free at the checkout. We phased out incandescent light bulbs. We now are installing EV (electric vehicle) charging stations at nine of our stores in the West."
Source: Hamilton JournalNews
