IKEA features largest solar array in Illinois - Smart Energy Decisions

Commercial, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  October 10, 2018

IKEA features largest solar array in Illinois

IKEA announced the opening on Oct. 10 of a 1.25-million-square-foot distribution center in Joiliet, Illinois, 48 miles southwest of Chicago. The facility features a 268,920-square-foot solar array built with 9,036 solar panels, currently the largest in Illinois. The array will produce almost 3.4 megawatts of electricity annually for the center, the equivalent of reducing 2,513 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

A statement from IKEA noted that the Joliet distribution center is LEED Gold Certified, a first for IKEA properties in the U.S. The facility will serve inventory needs of stores throughout the Midwestern U.S., as well as customer fulfillment of online orders.  

The statement notes that this new facility “is equipped with automation technology on a scale unlike anything currently in use within the IKEA customer fulfillment network, and which allows for increased storage capacity. The design of the Joliet facility increases co-worker efficiency due to the proximity of the dock doors to the automated storage system. Co-workers use forklifts to drive pallets into a machine called an interface station, which eventually feeds the pallet into storage. This technology allows the Joliet distribution center to provide 50 percent more storage capacity than any other IKEA facility.”

 

Keywords: IKEA

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