This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The IKEA home furnishings store in Draper has flipped the switch and turned on the massive solar panel array on its roof.

The 180,500-square-foot array, which consists of more than 4,200 solar panels, uses the sun to generate some 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, or about the amount of energy used annually in 123 homes.

"We at IKEA believe in the never-ending job of striving to improve the sustainability of our day-to-day business," said Tony Williams, manager of the Draper store.

The Draper installation is the 26th completed solar energy project for IKEA in the United States, with 13 more locations underway.