Home furnishings retailer IKEA will add solar panels to the roof of its store in West Chester and five other locations this year.

The Sweden-based company said it would install 4,452 solar panels on the roof of the 344,000-square-foot West Chester store, capable of producing 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

"We are excited to continue investing in renewable energy projects, reducing our carbon footprint and improving the lives of many people," said Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. president.

IKEA already has solar systems in a dozen other locations around the United States..

The five other locations adding solar panels this year are in Baltimore, Md.; College Park, Md.; Philadelphia, and its Conshohocken, Pa., store and corporate office. The company said it hoped to complete the solar installations this fall.

Original:communitypress.cincinnati.com