Ingka Investments Accelerates Renewable Energy Push In Australia

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, acquires a 195MW Australian solar PV portfolio from Australian arm of German solar PV developer, ENERPARC. The total investment in the solar PV portfolio will amount to approximately AUD 250 million (EUR 156 million). 

Today Ingka Investments announces its next renewable energy investment in Australia: the purchase of two operational solar PV parks in Peak Hill and Trundle, near Parkes, in central-west New South Wales and a third solar PV park currently under development which is expected to start producing electricity at the end of 2025. The expected installed capacity of the solar PV parks equals 195 megawatts. The total production of the three solar parks will be approximately 340 GWh per year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of roughly 65,000 Australian households.

"We are delighted to be announcing this important initiative to enable renewable electricity consumption in Australia, and to partner up once again with ENERPARC in this next step in accelerating our energy production in the Asia and Pacific region. With our own solar parks (and wind farms), we want to make renewable energy available throughout the IKEA value chain and beyond." – Peter van der Poel, Managing Director, Ingka Investments

The investment in Australia secures long-term access to renewable energy that can be steered contractually towards the consumption not only of the local Ingka Group operations, but also, in the future, to value chain partners and customers, contributing to further reduction of the Ingka Climate Footprint. This new investment provides for better diversification of the renewable energy portfolio improving its production profile and the matching of the production with consumption.

"It is incredibly exciting that Ingka Investments’ renewable energy portfolio is growing and expanding so rapidly in Australia with full ownership of three solar PV parks in NSW. In addition to the recently acquired stake in a wind farm in Victoria, this is the next vital step towards reaching 100% renewable energy across all operations. We have ambitious targets when it comes to reducing our climate footprint across Ingka Group globally, and meaningful investment like this is leading the way." – Mirja Viinanen, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Australia

As part of a EUR 6.5 billion initiative to support of 100% renewable energy consumption across the value chain and beyond, Ingka Investments has invested and committed more than EUR 3.5 billion into renewable energy projects in wind and solar power.

The development of the solar PV parks in New South Wales, following the recent 15% stake taken in Australia’s largest permitted wind farm, Golden Plains Wind Farm in Victoria, are part of the IKEA commitment to becoming climate positive* by 2030 by reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than the IKEA value chain emits, while also simultaneously growing the IKEA business. As the biggest retailer in the IKEA franchisee system, Ingka Group’s contribution is key to the successful accomplishment of the 2030 goals.

"This partnership is in line with our dedicated strategy to develop a total of 10 GW solar PV plants globally for our own portfolio and another 10 GW third-party solar portfolios until 2030. These and future Australian projects developed by Enerparc Australia will contribute to this strategy. It is a wonderful signal that Ingka Group and ENERPARC have joined forces to contribute to a world of carbon-neutral energy generation." – Christoph Koeppen, CEO and chairman of the board at ENERPARC AG

"This transaction is a testament to Enerparc Australia´s success in developing and realizing solar projects in New South Wales led by our team of professionals based in Sydney. We are excited about accelerating the energy transition with the prospect of further developments and partnerships in Australia." – Benjamin Hannig, Managing Director of Enerparc Australia

Today, Ingka Group has committed to owning or owns 594 wind turbines, 22 solar parks in 18 countries and over a million solar panels on the roofs of IKEA stores and warehouses. Together, this produces more than 4 TWh, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 1 million European households.

Read more about Ingka Group’s sustainability performance and commitments in the new Annual & Sustainability Summary report.

*IKEA climate positive means to reduce more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the IKEA value chain emits by 2030, while growing the IKEA business. IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This includes a commitment to halve the absolute net GHG emissions from the total IKEA value chain by 2030. We will achieve this by drastically reducing GHG emissions through science-based targets and by removing carbon from the atmosphere through natural processes and storing it in land, plants and products through better forest and agriculture management within the IKEA value chain. We will contribute to further greenhouse emission reductions in society by going beyond IKEA, such as enabling customers to generate renewable energy at home. Read more about the IKEA commitment here.

Source : Ingka Investments

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