ATCO Gas’s Drake Landing Solar Project first solar community in the world

ATCO Gas’s Drake Landing Solar Project in Okotoks, Alberta is the first solar community in the world to receive 80 percent of its yearly space heating through solar energy.

ATCO Gas joined Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and members of the Okotoks community to celebrate a new world record. In only its third year of operation, ATCO Gas’s Drake Landing Solar Project in Okotoks is the first thermal solar community in the world to receive 80 percent of its yearly space heating needs through solar energy. With this important milestone, the project is well on its way to achieving greater than 90 percent of its heating needs through solar energy by its fifth year.

The Drake Landing Solar Community is a three-year-old residential development in Okotoks and home to 52 solar-heated residences. The Solar Community is the largest subdivision of energy-efficient and environmentally-responsible new single family homes in Canada.

“As the operator and part-owner of the heating system, ATCO Gas is pleased that the Drake Landing Solar Community is leading the world in environmentally sustainable technologies,” says Brian Hahn, President, ATCO Gas.

In November 2007, ATCO Gas’s Drake Landing Solar Project also won an Energy-TV Award, which recognizes the “best of the best” in Canada’s oil and gas industry. ATCO Gas won the award for Best Project in the Alternative Energy category.