Commercial, Distributed Energy Resources, Commercial, Distributed Generation, Solar, Wind  -  March 16, 2017

IKEA installs 5th biogas fuel cell in California

^{Photo of the fuel cell installtion at IKEA's East Palo Alto store provided by IKEA.} 

IKEA has installed its fifth biogas-powered fuel cell system in California at its East Palo Alto location.

Furthering the Swedish retailer's investment in fuel cell technology, the project complements the company's focus on other renewable energies such as solar and wind. With the East Palo Alto fuel cell system installed, commissioned and operational, IKEA is on track to generate 1.5 MW in total of energy via fuel cells, supplementing onsite solar arrays atop all these stores.

"Plugging in this fuel cell system is an exciting milestone that complements our existing rooftop solar array," store manager Monica Varela said in a news release from IKEA. "Utilizing fuel cells will reduce our carbon footprint and help create an even more sustainable community here in the Bay Area."

The 300-kw, biogas-powered project will produce approximately 2,630,452 kWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent of reducing 1,193 tons of CO2, according to U.S. EPA calculations. Combined with the 302-kW solar array installed atop the store in 2011, IKEA says the fuel cell project will help generate a majority of the store's energy onsite.

Like its four other fuel cell projects, IKEA partnered with Bloom Energy for the design, development and installation of the fuel cell system. 

IKEA has big sustainability goals that include its use of renewable energy: The company is aiming to be energy independent by 2020. 

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