IKEA, a Swedish furniture maker, announced it will start selling Hanergy’s solar panels in Britain.
Initially IKEA will be selling solar panels made by Hanergy in its store in Southampton on Monday and in the rest of Britain in coming weeks.
The company will provide a standard, 3.36 kilowatt system for a cost of £5700, which also includes installation, maintenance and energy monitoring service.
Britain is a test market for IKEA and the company aims to continue launching the product in other countries after evaluating the prospects in Britain, an official from the company said.
While Britain’s renewable energy market is smaller compared to other European countries like Germany and Spain, the market has posted regular growth, with year-on-year installations rising 25 percent in September to 1.7 gigawatts.
IKEA has plans to source at least 70 percent of the group’s energy needs from wind and solar power by 2015 and 100 percent by 2020. The company has been active in the European wind energy sector. It has also installed solar panels on its stores, warehouses and factories.
Hanergy will do the consultancy and buttering up of customers, as well as supplying the panels.
“We know that our customers want to live more sustainably and we hope working with Hanergy to make solar panels affordable and easily available helps them do just that,” said Joanna Yarrow, IKEA’s head of sustainability in the UK and Ireland.
IKEA customers will receive a package that includes in-store consultation, installation and maintenance of the panels, which are made in Germany.