Ikea to begin the sale of solar modules in Sweden

Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer, will begin the sale of its “Solstrale” PV modules in its domestic market after the summer.

The Swedish multinational said it intends to benefit from the lessons learnt from its sales of solar panels in Germany – where it has encountered problems with a consumer watchdog – and from Italy, Belgium, Holland and Poland.

“The positive development of recent years, not least with simplified regulations and better profitability, has meant that the conditions for investing in solar panels in Sweden today are very good,” said Jonas Carlehed, sustainability manager for Ikea Group in Sweden.

The Swedish government has improved regulations for solar in the past two years and has increased the budget for rooftop PV rebates several times.

Ikea said it is in negotiations with potential suppliers and partners for the Solstrale offer in Sweden. Finding the right partner may help the retailer avoid issues such as those encountered in Germany, where consumer association Verbraucherzentrale NRW said Ikea’s advertising campaign to promote its solar offer was misleading as it did not sufficiently outline the different roles played by Ikea and its partner Solarcentury Microgen (Germany) GmbH.

Ambitious plans

In its statement, Ikea added it is planning to expand Solstrale sales to all its markets by 2025. “We want to help our customers to produce their own renewable energy at home which is good both for the climate and the wallet,” the company said.

Ikea also sells PV modules in Switzerland and the U.K.

In a recent interview with Signe Antvorskov Krag – global development leader for Ikea’s Home Solar business – pv magazine editor Becky Beetz discussed the flat-pack furniture retailer’s PV business model.