Author of the article: Brodie Thomas
Publishing date: Sep 29, 2021 •
An artist's rendition of the ATCO Group's Deerfoot solar project to be built at the corner of 114 Avenue and 52 Street SE in Calgary.
PHOTO BY CNW GROUP/ATCO LTD
The ATCO Group announced plans Wednesday to build two solar installations in Calgary with the capacity to power more than 18,000 homes.
The solar farms, to be built in the city’s southeast, will be as large as about 170 football fields. They will contain 175,000 bifacial solar panels and will offset 68,000 tonnes of carbon a year.
Karen Nielsen, senior vice-president of North American renewables for ATCO, said each panel will collect energy from both sides — with one pointed toward the sun and the opposite side collecting ambient light.
“When land and our footprint is so important, we’re trying to extract as much generation as we can out of that land,” said Nielsen.
The Deerfoot project, at 114th Avenue and 52nd Street S.E., will produce 37 megawatts and is currently in the permitting phase. The Barlow project, at Barlow Trail and 114 Avenue S.E., will produce 27 megawatts and has already received permit approval.
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The ATCO Group announced plans Wednesday to build two solar installations in Calgary with the capacity to power more than 18,000 homes.
The solar farms, to be built in the city’s southeast, will be as large as about 170 football fields. They will contain 175,000 bifacial solar panels and will offset 68,000 tonnes of carbon a year.
Karen Nielsen, senior vice-president of North American renewables for ATCO, said each panel will collect energy from both sides — with one pointed toward the sun and the opposite side collecting ambient light.
“When land and our footprint is so important, we’re trying to extract as much generation as we can out of that land,” said Nielsen.
The Deerfoot project, at 114th Avenue and 52nd Street S.E., will produce 37 megawatts and is currently in the permitting phase. The Barlow project, at Barlow Trail and 114 Avenue S.E., will produce 27 megawatts and has already received permit approval.
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An artist’s rendition of the ATCO Group’s Barlow solar project to be built at the corner of Barlow Trail and 114 Avenue SE in Calgary. PHOTO BY CNW GROUP/ATCO LTD
ATCO hopes to begin construction on both early next year, and have them up and running by the fourth quarter of next year.
Nielsen said the two locations are former industrial sites that have limited use for other construction.
“They were at the time part of a fertilizer plant,” said Nielsen. “So we’re taking land that is really limited in terms of its usefulness for construction and we’re turning it into something that’s very useful.”
ATCO is working on design optimization to ensure the placement of panels is as efficient as possible. Nielsen said once that’s complete, the company will place orders for the panels. She’s hopeful supply chains that have been disrupted at times by the global pandemic will co-operate.
This is not ATCO’s first foray into renewable energy. The company recently acquired a solar project near Empress in eastern Alberta, and has completed two solar projects in Canada’s North. It has what it calls a “growing renewable portfolio” in Canada, Mexico, Chile and Australia.
“The acquisition of three major solar projects shows how important we believe it is to provide customers with the opportunity to decarbonize their energy consumption,” said Bob Myles, executive vice-president of corporate development at ATCO.
“Whether it’s the far North or an urban centre, ATCO is delivering on our strategy to help communities accelerate their transition to clean energy in a safe, affordable and reliable manner. These solar projects are also prime examples of the kinds of opportunities we’ll continue to pursue as we grow our renewables portfolio.”
Nielsen said this will be a unique project because many solar and wind energy installations are in rural areas, while this one will be highly visible from major roads in the city.
She said ATCO is committed to energy sustainability, and bringing that to consumers.
“We know intuitively our friends and neighbours want to live more sustainably. We see our goal as providing them with the solutions so they can make the choices to live the way they want.”
ATCO hopes to begin construction on both early next year, and have them up and running by the fourth quarter of next year.
Nielsen said the two locations are former industrial sites that have limited use for other construction.
“They were at the time part of a fertilizer plant,” said Nielsen. “So we’re taking land that is really limited in terms of its usefulness for construction and we’re turning it into something that’s very useful.”
ATCO is working on design optimization to ensure the placement of panels is as efficient as possible. Nielsen said once that’s complete, the company will place orders for the panels. She’s hopeful supply chains that have been disrupted at times by the global pandemic will co-operate.
This is not ATCO’s first foray into renewable energy. The company recently acquired a solar project near Empress in eastern Alberta, and has completed two solar projects in Canada’s North. It has what it calls a “growing renewable portfolio” in Canada, Mexico, Chile and Australia.
“The acquisition of three major solar projects shows how important we believe it is to provide customers with the opportunity to decarbonize their energy consumption,” said Bob Myles, executive vice-president of corporate development at ATCO.
“Whether it’s the far North or an urban centre, ATCO is delivering on our strategy to help communities accelerate their transition to clean energy in a safe, affordable and reliable manner. These solar projects are also prime examples of the kinds of opportunities we’ll continue to pursue as we grow our renewables portfolio.”
Nielsen said this will be a unique project because many solar and wind energy installations are in rural areas, while this one will be highly visible from major roads in the city.
She said ATCO is committed to energy sustainability, and bringing that to consumers.
“We know intuitively our friends and neighbours want to live more sustainably. We see our goal as providing them with the solutions so they can make the choices to live the way they want.”
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