Calgary going green in a big way with new solar power installations
There's a lot of work that has to be done in preparation to put up 175,000 solar panels and a massive amount of space is required for ATCO's two projects that equal about 170 Canadian football fields.
The Barlow project is located northwest of the intersection of Barlow Trail and 114th Avenue and the Deerfoot project is further east on 114th Avenue near 52nd Street. Combined, they will make up the largest solar array in a major urban centre in Western Canada.
Bob Myles, ATCO’s executive vice-president of corporate development, says Microsoft has signed an agreement to purchase power from one of the sites. He says the energy provider set a target of 2050 to be net zero and also has a goal by 2030 to have 1000 megawatts of renewables.
"We spend a lot of time over the last couple of years taking a look at where we want to go as an organization," said Myles. "Renewables and clean fuels are really a space that we feel we can participate, it's really our commitment to the energy transition side of the world."
Myles points to an Oct. 5 announcement by ATCO company Canadian Utilities Limited that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Suncor Energy Inc., to acquire a portfolio of wind and solar assets and projects located in Alberta and Ontario for a purchase price of $730 million, making it a major force in renewable energy.
"This definitely makes us a player and our commitment into this sector really was over the last couple years," he said. "We have a hydro facility here in Alberta, we're in Mexico, we've got some business in Australia but really this acquisition we announced yesterday is really showing our commitment to Alberta and to Canada."
Darcy Fedorchuk, ATCO's vice-president of North America power and renewables and is overseeing the Barlow and Deerfoot solar projects that will produce 27 and 37 megawatts respectively. He says the land at the Barlow site was prime for this kind of development.
"It's largely an unusable piece of land that, with the benefit of the solar, is creating an opportunity for this land that otherwise wouldn't have been used," he said.
"So it's a real win-win from a land perspective and the project perspective."
Fedorchuk says work started on the Barlow project in June with 100 workers and Deerfoot construction started in August. He says they weren't impacted by supply chain issues.
"We actually got ahead of that early in the process," said Fedorchuk. "We got into the market for our panels and all of our related equipment and materials and in fact, all of our material is here on site now, so we don't have the challenges that others are seeing."
Because of the size of the project, some workers are preparing foundations and the accompanying racking system for the panels while others began installing the panels in the first week of October.
"So these panels are new in terms of the industry that are bifacial so they'll produce energy on both sides," said Fedorchuk. "Sun intensity (is captured) from the top and then a rebound off the ground, that increases the overall production of energy, which adds additional electricity into the provincial grid."
The lifespan of the solar array is anticipated to be 25 to 30 years. ATCO says the Barlow facility will begin generating power in mid December.
Learn more about it here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.