The ATCO Group, through its investment in Canadian Utilities Limited, announced that it has acquired the rights to build two solar installations in Calgary aimed at providing clean, renewable energy to Alberta’s power grid and supporting the transition to lower-carbon energy. Once completed, the Barlow and Deerfoot solar projects will be the largest solar installation in a major urban centre in Western Canada, at 27 and 37 megawatts respectively. This announcement follows ATCO’s recent acquisition of a solar project near Empress in eastern Alberta and the completion of two solar projects in Canada’s North.  

“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, Corporate Development, 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 moving forward.”

The installations’ combined 175,000 bifacial solar panels, covering the equivalent of roughly 170 (Canadian) football fields, will generate enough renewable electricity to power more than 18,000 homes and offset 68,000 tonnes of carbon a year. 

Through Canadian Utilities Limited, ATCO acquired the two Calgary solar projects from DP Energy, a privately held energy developer. Electricity from the projects will be sold into the Alberta power market, and ATCO is currently negotiating with potential customers to contract the facilities’ output.

The Deerfoot project, near 114 Avenue and 52 Street SE, is completing the permitting phase. The Barlow project, near Barlow Trail and 114 Avenue SE, has received its major permits and project execution is underway. Construction for both projects is expected to occur during 2022, with commercial operations targeted for Q4 2022. 

In addition to Empress, the Deerfoot and Barlow projects are part of ATCO Group’s growing renewable portfolio in Canada, Mexico, Chile and Australia, and leverage our solar expertise from recently completed projects such as Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, and Old Crow, Yukon.

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With approximately 6,200 employees and assets of $22 billion, ATCO is a diversified global corporation with investments in the essential services of Structures & Logistics (workforce and residential housing, innovative modular facilities, construction, site support services, workforce lodging services, facility operations and maintenance, defence operations services, and disaster and emergency management services); Utilities (electricity and natural gas transmission and distribution, and international electricity operations); Energy Infrastructure (electricity generation, energy storage and industrial water solutions); Retail Energy (electricity and natural gas retail sales); Transportation (ports and transportation logistics); and Commercial Real Estate.

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