Flatpack furniture retailer Ikea is to branch into renewable energy with the purchase of a wind farm in Scotland.
The Swedish home furnishings company has also unveiled plans to install 39,000 solar panels on its UK outlets to provide an average five per cent of each store's energy needs.
Steve Howard, chief sustainability officer at Ikea, told Bloomberg that the wind farm in Huntly will produce up to 30 per cent of the group's electricity usage in the UK.
He commented: "The principle strategy is to match the direct energy consumption of the business with electricity production from renewable assets."
Mr Howard added: "We can certainly see a point in time where renewables are likely to be the most cost-effective form of energy generation."
Domestic energy customers could also fit solar panels to their homes to help lower energy bills.
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