Image credit: IKEA Australia
Driving past Adelaide’s huge IKEA store, and even standing at its front doors looking up at the towering blue walls, you’d never guess that perched above the building, sprawling across its large, flat rooftop, is Australia’s largest commercial solar panel grid.
The grid contains over three thousand solar panels. On a sunny day, the panels provide 1.2 mega watts per hour and power 70% of the store. The excess power is stored in a battery on the rooftop that would dwarf a shipping container. This surplus clean energy helps stabilise South Australia’s electricity network during peak demand hours, powering about 370 homes a year. This system saves 890 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
This solar grid launched last year to support IKEA’s goal of reaching 100 per cent renewable energy use in its Adelaide store by 2025. The 6.6 million dollar project was a collaboration between IKEA Australia, Planet Ark Power, Epic Energy, SA Power Networks, and the South Australian Government. The State Government provided a $1.95m grant as part of the Renewable Technology Fund in order to improve the quality of power to nearby homes and businesses.
IKEA Australia Sustainability Lead Peter Richmond says, “IKEA is committed to becoming a circular and climate-positive business, but we can’t do it alone. This microgrid project is the perfect example of collaboration between the business community, industry, and government to help shift the dial on clean energy production in Australia.”
Planet Ark Power Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Ruddick says, “The microgrid not only maximises clean energy generation in SA, but also avoids expensive network upgrades and provides grid support to the state’s electricity network, benefitting the wider South Australian community.”
The grid was recognised at the SA Premier’s 2022 Energy & Mining Awards, winning the Innovation and Collaboration category before its completion in 2023.
Scott Oster, director of the Department for Energy and Mining Major Projects, Growth, and Low Carbon said of the accomplishment, “This is another critical step in South Australia delivering a smart energy grid of the future. It is innovative solutions and forward-thinking like this that will be vitally important as we approach our target of 100 per cent renewables by 2030. With the plans IKEA have for renewable energy measures at the site, we hope it inspires other major retailers and IKEA customers to also play their part in South Australia’s energy transition.”
Those interested in playing their part to fight climate change will be interested to know that IKEA sells a home solar panel range and batteries with their business partner Solargain. Although maybe your home is already one of the 370 homes that IKEA Adelaide powers each year!
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