Home furnishings retailer Ikea is completing exterior and interior projects toward its fall opening at 7801 Gate Parkway.
The city approved a permit for contractor REC Solar Commercial Corp. to install a roof-mount solar installation at a construction cost of $2.4 million.
It also signed off on a permit for BTI Construction Inc. to install high-pile racking in the store’s warehouse area at a cost of $517,000.
The rooftop solar panels will be the company’s fifth Ikea solar array in the state. It will be one of Florida’s largest retail solar rooftops.
The 290,000-square-foot Ikea is under development at Gate Parkway and Interstate 295. The store’s 1.89 megawatt, 251,206-square-foot solar array will be built with 5,472 panels and produce about 2.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
That’s enough to power 201 Florida residential homes for a year, according statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The company said previously that Ikea is Florida’s largest non-utility private solar owner.
The installation represents the 49th solar project for Ikea in the U.S., contributing to Ikea’s solar presence atop nearly 90 percent of its U.S. locations, with a total generation of more than 42 megawatts.
Ikea, which announced plans for its 250-job Jacksonville store Oct. 6, is taking applications for more than 200 full- and part-time jobs.
Ikea said it offers benefits that include full medical and dental insurance to employees working 20 hours or more per week
Candidates can apply online at SeeACareerWithUs.com and find more company information at IKEA-USA.com.
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