Who built Drake Landing Solar Community
Natural Resources Canada conceived Drake Landing Solar Community and assembled the group that built it. CanmetENERGY was project leader, Sterling Homes built the houses, ATCO Gas operated the utility and the Town of Okotoks facilitated.
Funding partners
- Program of Energy Research and Development, Government of Canada
- Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative, Natural Resources Canada
- Technology Early Action Measures, Government of Canada
- Green Municipal Fund, Federation of Canadian Municipalities
- Climate Change Central
- ATCO Gas
- Innovation Program, Government of Alberta
- Sustainable Development Technology Canada
Project participants and roles
- CANMET Energy Technology Centre, Natural Resources Canada: project leader
- SAIC Canada: project coordinator
- United Communities: developer
- Sterling Homes: homebuilder
- ATCO Gas: utility operator
- Town of Okotoks: project facilitator
- Environment Canada (Climate Change Division, Atlantic Region) and IFTech International: thermal storage design
- Enermodal Engineering: solar and heating system design
- Bodycote Materials Testing Canada: design support and collector testing
- Thermal Energy System Specialists: computer modelling
- Enerworks: collectors and solar hot water
- Nu-Air Ventilation Systems: air-handler units
- Sunbow Consulting: subdivision design
- Hurst Construction Management: Energy Centre and system construction
- Howell-Mayhew Engineering: performance monitoring
Where their work shows
Each partner's piece maps to a page here. Enerworks panels are in solar collection and solar hot water. The thermal storage design is the borehole store. Sterling Homes' work is in the homes and Nu-Air's in the air handlers. Monitoring by Howell-Mayhew Engineering and SAIC Canada fed the performance results.
For background, the 2005 feature on the 52 solar homes describes the project at launch, and the photo archive shows the partners' work taking shape year by year.
How the roles fitted together
The structure was layered. A federal research group set the concept and led it, a coordinator and engineering firms handled design and modelling, a developer and builder delivered the houses, and a utility and a municipality kept the system running. The 800 collectors, the Energy Centre and the district loop each trace back to different members of that group, which is why the list above is long.
Recognition and current questions
The partnership received awards in its first years, and the builder's 2005 show home is covered in a news article. For today's status, contact the Town of Okotoks or ATCO Gas directly; see contact. This site is an independent archive and does not speak for any of the partners.
Quick answers
Who led the Drake Landing project?
Natural Resources Canada, through its CanmetENERGY research centre.
Who built the homes?
Sterling Homes built the houses, with United Communities as developer.
Who operated the utility?
ATCO Gas was the utility operator, and the Town of Okotoks served as project facilitator.
Who made the solar collectors?
Enerworks manufactured the 800 garage-roof collectors and the rooftop solar hot water panels.