Retailer IKEA has bought a wind farm in Leitrim that will be used to power its Dublin and Belfast stores.

In doing so the furniture giant has become one of the first corporate businesses in Ireland to generate power in such a way.

Construction work is already underway and the site - in Carrickeeny - is expected to be fully operational early next year.

The wind farm will have a capacity of 7.65 megawatts and consist of four turbines. It will have an expected annual production of 25GWh - generating the equivalent electricity for some 5,500 houses a year.

The IKEA Group will sell electricity generated by the wind farm to Irish energy supply company Vayu who will supply electricity to the retailer’s Dublin and Belfast stores under a 15 year contract.

IKEA uses other wind farms in the UK, Germany, France, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.

Joanna Yarrow is Head of Sustainability at IKEA. She says the turbines will also feed the national grid.