Gary Zhou 
Ikea U.S. recently announced a partnership with SunPower Corp. to provide residential solar solutions to customers. The initiative is called Home Solar with IKEA. It is expected to launch in Fall 2022 in select California markets.
“The launch of Home Solar with IKEA will allow more people to take greater control of their energy needs, and our goal is to offer the clean energy service at additional IKEA locations in the future,” said Javier Quiñones, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA U.S.
With the initiative, members of the IKEA Family customers loyalty program have the opportunity to purchase home solar solutions through IKEA’s retail stores. The move would make solar solutions more accessible to homeowners since IKEA is a popular store for their house needs.
The estimated size of the United States residential solar PV market was $9.1 billion in 2020, reported Grand View Research. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% from 2021 to 2028. California’s residential solar PV market has a CAGR of 6.1%.
Business Insider suggested that Home Solar with IKEA in the United States will be a direct competitor of Tesla Energy and its residential solar solutions. Tesla has become increasingly dependent on subcontractors for solar installations, according to PV Magazine. It started transitioning from a top solar solution installer to a full-suite technology supplier.
In IKEA’s case, SunPower will install its solar panels. SunPower’s headquarters has been located in Silicon Valley since 1985. It offers a diversified portfolio of residential and solar storage solutions.
“At IKEA, we’re passionate about helping our customers live a more sustainable life at home. We’re proud to collaborate with SunPower to bring this service to the U.S. and enable our customers to make individual choices aimed at reducing their overall climate footprint,” said Quiñones.
IKEA already sells solar panels in 11 other countries, including Britain. In other countries, customers who bought solar panels from IKEA can track their usage through an app and sell back surplus electricity to the furniture company.
Customers who don’t own IKEA solar panels can still use the app to track their usage. They can also opt to buy energy from the IKEA.
