A new Ikea store in Karlstad, Sweden, is currently installing a geothermal system, drilling 101 holes 390 feet into the ground to tap 50-60°F water. This will provide 85 percent of the stores heating needs and 75 percent of air-conditioning requirements. A geothermal system is a heat exchanger that uses the earth, ground water, or both as sources of building heat in the Winter and as a source of air conditioning in the Summer. Ikea stores in Uppsala, Helsingborg, and Malmö are tapped for similar systems. Swedish Ikea stores get 91 percent of their energy and electricity needs from renewable sources (mainly hydro and wind), while globally the average is around 40 percent.

Ikea is also proposing an upcoming energy plan that includes cutting its global energy consumption by 25 percent. In addition, they plan to supply power to all of its stores, warehouses, and offices with all-renewable energy sources, such as wind power, solar power, biofuels, and geothermal. Eva Stal, a spokeswoman for Ikea Sweden, said that "without going out on a limb, I would say that this will probably happen already between the next three to five years, globally."

This is definitely a stop in the right direction. Kudos, Ikea!

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