There are some corporate moves that have the ring of game changer. While it is too soon to say, a foray by IKEA into solar panel distribution may point in that direction.
In June, the iconic home furnishing store announced it was launching solar panels for apartment balconies.
“Small system, big impact,” IKEA writes on its German-based website, touting its “DIY solar solutions that help you generate your own solar power and become more independent from energy price developments.”
For now, the “balcony power plants” are available only in Germany, which recently simplified rules about solar installation, removing grid operator registration for homeowners and allowing plug-in panels on balconies, like the ones now offered through IKEA.
Solar is key to the energy transition. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says it is set to become the largest renewable energy source by 2030, which as a whole will account for nearly half of global energy production by the end of the decade. Buoyed by its flexibility, portability and rapidly dropping costs, roughly 100 million households will rely on rooftop solar energy by 2030, according to the IEA, up from around 25 million in 2022. Solar will account for 80% of renewable energy growth by 2030, the agency says.
The IKEA panel kits are produced by Swedish energy company Svea Solar. Three packages are available through Svea: The smallest and most suited to single family homes comes with two panels, an inverter and AI app assistant, at a cost of 449 Euros (roughly $724). A level up, for a three- to four-person household, includes four panels and an energy storage device at a cost of 1,280 Euros ($2,065). Or you can customize the package and buy any number of panels required.
IKEA estimates that a typical balcony power plant can save users between 200 and 600 Euros per year and generate between 860 and 2000 kWh per year.
In many parts of the Global South, such as Nigeria and Pakistan, the surge in affordable Chinese-made solar panels has fueled a natural transition to the renewable energy source. China itself is driving this shift within its own borders, accounting for 60% of all renewable energy expansion by 2030, according to the IEA.
Solar energy is also booming in Europe, which has adopted policies aimed at decreasing its reliance on fossil fuels from Russia. Its initiatives include speeding up the rollout of photovoltaic solar, in part through new rooftop rules.
For industry watchers, the IKEA move matters.
“When generating clean electricity becomes as simple as assembling furniture, we’re looking at a fundamental shift in how people think about power generation,” wrote Javier Gascón Araujo, founder of a Madrid-based AI solutions firm for climate companies, on LinkedIn.
“We need regulators to accelerate plug-in electricity permits to make this accessible Everywhere!!!” Maria Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, added on LinkedIn.
IKEA was ranked 17th in Corporate Knights’s first ranking of the 25 most sustainable private sector companies in the world this year, committing to halving its value chain emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Investigations by environmental groups such as Greenpeace have raised questions about some of the company’s supply chains, specifically around working with manufacturers that source wood from old growth or protected forests. The company says it has shrunk its total climate footprint by 22% compared to 2016 and that it is focusing on using only “responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials.”
IKEA makes a power play with solar panels for apartment balconies
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