Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, which owns and operates IKEA Retail, has invested in TagEnergy’s Golden Plains wind farm near the city of Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, Australia.
The company invested A$2bn ($1.4bn) in exchange for a 15% stake in the Golden Plains wind project.
The move comes as Ingka Investments advances its investments in renewable energy, and contributes to the overall IKEA commitment to become climate positive by 2030.
It is Ingka Investments’ first major investment in utility-scale renewable energy in Australia and underlines its strategy to secure long-term access to renewable energy in Asia.
The Golden Plains wind farm project has a total planned capacity of 1.3GW and will be developed in two stages.
The first stage of the project will feature 122 turbines totalling 756MW capacity, with an estimated annual production of more than 2,000GWh/yr.
Based on the ownership stake, Ingka Investments can claim up to 15% of the project’s Renewable Energy Attributes and link it to the local Ingka Climate Footprint.
Once completed, the Golden Plains wind farm is expected to provide sustainable energy for more than 750,000 homes.
The closing of the transaction is subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board, and the facility is expected to be fully operating by the end of 2025.
Ingka Investments managing director Peter van der Poel said: “Sustainability investments are a growth sector, where doing good business and being a good business comes together, and therefore are also a core strategic priority for Ingka Group.
“It is about making the necessary investments to meet sustainability goals and support the IKEA transition to become climate positive and transition to a circular business model, through offering affordable solutions enabling people to live within the planetary boundaries.”
TagEnergy and the original developer Westwind are also preparing for the construction of the second stage and a 300MW battery storage facility that will add flexibility and stability to the electricity grid.
Ingka Group, through Ingka Investments, is committed to expanding its investments in renewable energy to €6.5bn as the next step towards 100% renewable energy.
Since 2009, Ingka Investments has invested more than €3bn into renewable energy projects in wind and solar power, to generate more renewable energy.
The group aims to produce 15TWh and support its climate footprint reduction.
It is now looking to expand its renewable energy portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region where Ingka Group has retail operations in Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea.
IKEA Australia CEO and CSO Mirja Viinanen said: “Following the commitment of Ingka Group to invest € 6.5bn in Renewable Energy, the company is increasing efforts to invest in renewable energy production in countries where the output can be used to help reduce the footprint of Ingka Group, its value chain partners or customers within the Ingka Climate Footprint.
“Understandably Australia has been identified as a location with rich potential for renewable investments and this agreement is the first for Ingka Investments in this country.”
