Here’s the latest on IKEA Las Vegas — PHOTOS

UPDATE: The opening date was announced in March 2016 to be May 18. Read the updated story by clicking here. 

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When IKEA opens its doors in Las Vegas early next summer, the Swedish furniture retailer will be part of a growing trend in Southern Nevada of companies generating their own power.

IKEA announced it will have a rooftop solar array of more than 250,000 square feet on a 351,000 square-foot building. That means 3,620 solar panels that measure 3 feet-by-4 feet of a 1.14 megawatt system equal to powering 166 homes a year. IKEA won't say how much of the Las Vegas store's power it will generate but says in some cases solar arrays have supplied as much as 60 percent of a store's power supply.

IKEA touts the project as the largest single-use retail solar array in the state, and its solar contractor, Las Vegas-based Helix Electric, said it will only be second in scope for a rooftop solar array to Mandalay Bay.

"We see it with casinos because they have large rooftops and use a lot of energy," said Helix Electric President Victor Fuchs. "It's huge move on IKEA's part to be green. It's a great example for a lot of other businesses to go forward and proceed that way. It's definitely a trend, and there will be more of it, especially if there is a roof area available. It's going to places that already have been built."

Helix is designing rooftop solar arrays for Saint Rose Dominican Hospitals for its existing Siena and San Martin campuses.

The IKEA rooftop solar system will cost $2.5 million.

Dave Wood, the director of renewable energy at Helix Electric, said depending on the size of an array, the solar system can pay for itself in three to five years.

"The overall cost of solar has now come into range where it's competitive with wholesale electric prices," Wood said. "It's not a bad choice to go solar anymore compared to other sources of power generation. It's met that parity."

Construction is continuing on the store on 26 acres in southwest Las Vegas on the northern side of the 215 Beltway at Durango Drive. About 80 percent of the exterior work on the building is completed and concrete pouring has started inside the building for the mezzanine level and floors, said IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth.

R&O Construction, whose headquarters is in Utah and has a regional office in Las Vegas, is the contractor.

"Everything is going well," Roth said. "We're excited at the progress. The building is taking its shape very clearly with the blue building design, which IKEA stores are known worldwide with the yellow accent and letters."

IKEA won't pinpoint an exact date for the opening, but Roth said the goal is for early summer rather than later in the summer. That means an opening closer to the third week of June rather than the third week of September, he said.

"Since we're not enclosed or water tight yet, we're saying summer because we have a lot of construction work to do inside the building with the mechanical, electrical and plumbing as well as everything outside the building with the parking lot," Roth said. "Things are going really well but winter hasn't begun yet so we don't know how wet it's going to be, although it can be dry there. When it does rain like we saw two weeks ago, the flash floods can undermine the site too. But we don't anticipate late into summer at all."

Roth said the decision to go solar is a company commitment to the environment and sustainability that's part of its Swedish heritage. The Las Vegas solar array is the equivalent of reducing 1,207 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equal to the emissions of 254 cars, he said.

Some 42 or 90 percent of stores in the U.S. currently use solar power to help reduce operating costs. Depending on the location and weather and size of array, stores get 20 percent to 60 percent of its power from solar, he said.

"It's not going to be enough to power the entire store," Roth said. "We're still drawing from the electrical grid."

Two weeks ago, contractors used a helicopter to airlift air conditioning units for installation on the rooftop, Roth said. Refrigeration will be installed in November for its dining.