CELEBRATE SOLAR POWERED KANSAS CITY AREA IKEA COMING SOON!!!



TKC NOTE: An interesting note on the green energy that will soon power an upcoming local retailer and their beloved Swedish meatballs . . . Check it:

IKEA to install Kansas’ largest rooftop solar array on future

Kansas City-area store opening fall 2014 in Merriam, Kansas

Merriam, KS– IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced solar energy plans for its Kansas City-area store opening Fall 2014 in Merriam, KS. Pending permits, rooftop panel installation will begin next month, with completion before the store’s opening, making the project the largest rooftop solar array in the State of Kansas.

The 92,000-square-foot solar array will consist of a 869.25-kW system, built with 2,850 panels, and will produce approximately 1,348,000 kWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent to reducing 930 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) – equal to the emissions of 196 cars or providing electricity for 128 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html). For the development, design and installation of IKEA Merriam’s customized solar power system, IKEA contracted with Chicago-based SoCore Energy, one of the largest commercial solar developers in the Midwest, with more than 100 commercial-scale U.S. installations.


Under construction on 19 acres along the eastern side of Interstate-35 and Johnson Drive, the 359,000 square-foot future IKEA Merriam and 1,200 parking spaces will be built in the city of Merriam, eight miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri. IKEA Merriam will be the second U.S. store for IKEA with a geothermal component to its heating and cooling system. (Denver-area IKEA Centennial opened with geothermal in 2011.) Incorporating geothermal and solar will significantly reduce the energy IKEA Merriam will draw from the power grid.

“We are excited about furthering our sustainability commitment with solar panels on the future Merriam store,” said Rob Parsons, IKEA Merriam store manager. “As is the case with geothermal, solar energy will reduce greatly the new store’s energy needs and carbon footprint as well as contribute to our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many.”

This installation will represent the 41st solar project for IKEA in the U.S, contributing to the IKEA solar presence atop nearly 90% of its U.S. locations, with a total generation goal of 40 MW. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) – and globally has allocated $1.8 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015, reinforcing its confidence and investment in solar photovoltaic technology. Consistent with the goal of being energy independent by 2020, IKEA has installed more than 550,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns approximately 157 wind turbines in Europe and Canada, with 49 more being built in the U.S.

IKEA, drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, believes it can be a good business while doing good business and aims to minimize impacts on the environment. Globally, IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. Specific U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating environmental measures into the actual buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, skylights in warehouse areas, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling of customers’ compact fluorescent bulbs, and by 2016 selling only L.E.D. bulbs. IKEA also has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 stores, with roll-out planned for more locations.

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 350 IKEA stores in 44 countries, including 38 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @DesignByIKEA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Pinterest.
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Comments

  1. Fantastic, the Bear salutes the forward thinking of IKEA.

    The bear's den has been solar powered for several years and there is nothing better than not having to fork out $800 to a $1,200.00 dollars a month to a thieving utility company that has a GRIFTING city council member controlling taxpayers wallets. Sorrry, but big titties only go so far Cindy Circo.

    Obviously, IKEA like NASCAR, the Big Water Slide company, CERNER and (lol) the COACH Outlet, that will only be open 3 days, chose Kansas.

    Wonder why ? Probably because Kansas City has a NATIONAL reputation for being run by total MORONS.

    Killa City is on a downward sprial of epic proportions. Now Jack Henry is leaving. Well dressed men are afraid to shop on the Plaza due to the black locust plague that has descended on the area.

    Detroit, you have competition, better get to blowing those buildings up without that 2.5 billion dollars from the Feds. Killa City is hot on Detroit's heals.

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  2. They will produce $100K of electricity each year at a cost of several million up front, lots of annual maintenance and who knows how long the panels will last. Good PR but it makes no economic or environmental sense.

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  3. It's only a matter of time before the KCMO city hall press release that IKEA came to the metro because of the streetcar line and the solar array roof is just a part of being the innovation capital of the world.
    Chris Hernandez should get on that right away!

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  4. 7:25 must be an expert but then again acts like a hater bitch who hates IKEA. Was probably HC

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  5. 7:26am - you rock!

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  7. Midtown Hipster Business Incubator......5/28/14, 8:00 AM

    7:25 sells t-shirts from the back of a abandoned bread truck in Midtown. He uses a stolen solar panel from a highway sign to charge is I-Phone so he is a expert on all things solar, economic, and environmental.

    Brother can you spare a dollar for a coffee ?

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  8. Geothermal heating and cooling does not work. The store will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

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  9. As a teenager, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was directly involved in the pro-Nazi New Swedish Movement

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  10. During the 1980s, IKEA kept its costs down by using production facilities in East Germany. A portion of the workforce at the factories used consisted of political prisoners. This fact, revealed in a report by Ernst & Young commissioned by the company, resulted from intermingling of criminals and political dissidents in the state-owned production facilities IKEA contracted with, a practice which was generally known in West Germany. IKEA was one of a number of companies, including West German firms, which benefited from this practice. The investigation resulted from attempts by former political prisoners to obtain compensation. In November 2012, IKEA admitted being aware at the time of the possibility of use of forced labor and failing to exercise sufficient rigor to identify and avoid it. A summary of the Ernst & Young report was released on 16 November 2012.

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  11. Just what the world needs another Big Box outfit.

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  12. Foreign-made stuff that isn't assembled.

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  13. Terminally trendy.

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  14. Buying foreign-made stuff that isn't even assembled from a store that is solar heated? I just jizzed in my pants as I drive along in my Prius.

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  15. IKEA CAFETERIA

    JoCo Customer: Excuse me, but...were these Swedish meatballs prepared with regular electricity or solar-generated electricity?

    Food Worker: Uh....I don't really know lady.

    JoCo Customer: Well, the reason I ask is because I'm on a "green" diet.

    Food Worker: So....do want some...like...spinach and broccoli?

    JoCo Customer: Well that depends, is it certified organic and harvested by farm workers paid a living wage?

    Food Worker: I have no idea. So, can I get you anything? You're kinda holding up the line.

    JoCo Customer: Oh! I'll just stop at Whole Foods on the way home!

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  16. Amazing how a whole metro just shits it pants over shitty furniture and junk from a country that needs to stick to making ice cream.

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  17. What ice cream? You mean Häagen-Dazs? It's American ice cream with a fake Scandahoovian-sounding name so dimwit Americans would be happy to pay a lot more for it.

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  18. Don't solar panels cause melanoma.

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  19. Damn this town is full of idiots.

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  20. Solar panels emit radiation that makes your penis shrivel up. Rush said so.

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