It takes forward thinking to come up with an idea so novel. Pioneered by all levels of government and the first of its kind in North America, Drake Landing Solar Community will make wiser use of natural resources and lessen dependence on fossil fuels by reducing energy by 30 per cent. Using locally manufactured materials, Sterling Homes will build this neighbourhood to its highest energy efficiency – Natural Resources Canada’s R2000.

Why Okotoks? It’s one of the top Canadian locations for annual hours of sunshine. 

Bill Wong, Assistant Division Manager and Program Manager for Science Applications International Corporation’s (SAIC) Renewable Energy and Climate Change Program, is one of the key minds behind the project. “The key thing is the partnership. Every step of the way, we needed to have the champion and the right connection. There had to be strong local ownership.

“There are a few key components: the R2000, solar domestic hot water, which are not that huge in cost. The main investment, however, is in the solar space-heating infrastructure.”

This enclave of 52 solar homes is a demonstration for future single-family home development. The sun’s thermal energy is collected through solar panels mounted on rooftops and transferred to underground storage until it’s needed.

Wong adds, “A west-facing brick or stone wall – after the sun sets – stays warm for a period of time. It’s the same principal here. It’s a mechanical process, pumping water in and out and storing the heat. The technology itself is really no rocket science. All the technology is already there. It’s really the thinking on how to piece it together. Most of the components are conventional components: piping, pumps, instrumentation. The know-how to maintain it and run it is already there. It’s really putting it into a new application.”

This system can save nearly 80 per cent of residential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from space and hot-water heating. For each individual home, that means five annual tons of reduced GHG or 260 tons for the entire community.
ATCO Gas will oversee the solar details. President Jerome Engler reports, “What we’re going to do initially is manage the construction project of the heating system. Once it’s done, then we’ll be responsible for operating the system on a go-forward basis. We have a five-year period where we will be testing what works and what improvements can be made. After that five-year period, we will then take full ownership of the heating system.

“We have the technology to do this, but the cost right now is prohibitive. We have to find ways to reduce the cost and to demonstrate that bringing all these technologies together will work in an efficient way.”

The first home will open for viewing in July. Sterling Homes’ Bill Bobyk says the concept is already well-established in Europe, but for Okotoks, “Fifty-two homes will be warm and snug thanks to the abundance of sunshine.”