Ikea has quietly stopped selling solar panels to UK householders after the government signalled a drastic cut in solar subsidies and just two years after a media-friendly national launch.

The world’s biggest furniture retailer expanded the solar offering to all its 17 UK stores in 2013-14 following a successful pilot at its Lakeside store in Essex.

The company’s UK head of sustainability said at the time: “We know that our customers want to live more sustainably and we hope working with Hanergy [Ikea’s technology partner] to make solar panels affordable and easily available helps them do just that.”



But in November last year the company decided not to renew its contract with the Hong Kong-headquartered firm, two months after the government announced a dramatic reduction in solar subsidies.

Ikea did not give a reason for the deal’s end. A spokeswoman said the chain would be selling solar panels again later this year, but the details are not yet clear and it currently no longer sells solar. Industry trade title, Solar Power Portal, has reported that other Chinese companies have expressed an interest in a tie-in with Ikea.

An Ikea spokeswoman said: “Based on the successful roll-out [of solar] and to ensure Ikea Group has a growth plan in place for the future, we have evaluated our business model, starting in the UK. A new business model has been decided upon, which included the decision not to renew the contract with Hanergy Solar UK when their current contract ended on 1 November 2015.”



The Swedish company has made a big play of its green credentials, making its stores only sell energy-saving LED bulbs and pledging €1bn ($1.13bn) on climate change and renewable energy through its foundation. It has also installed sizeable solar systems on some of its UK stores.

Reports last summer suggested the Ikea partnership with Hanergy might be hanging in the balance after the Chinese company lost $19bn in value in a stock crash.

The incentive scheme for household solar power, the feed-in tariff, has been closed to new applications for the past three weeks as part of the government’s subsidy cut. It reopened on Monday with rates 65% lower than before and with a new cap on installations.

The solar industry maintains solar is still an attractive option for householders even with a payback period of 14 years as opposed to eight years before the cuts.