2023 Community Energy Fund Projects
Col. Moore Branch No. 26 Banff, Royal Canadian Legion (Banff, Alberta)
Col. Moore Branch No. 26 Banff, Royal Canadian Legion is receiving funding support to conduct an energy audit on their facility to identify areas of improvement for energy efficiency and provide recommendations for upgrades to increase sustainability and reduce GHG emissions. The energy audit will be completed over a four-week period commencing early in 2024.
MD of Smoky River No. 130 (Smoky River, Alberta)
The municipality is working towards an energy efficient future zero by installing a level 2 and level 3 electric vehicle charging station in the community. Currently, there is minimal electric vehicle charging infrastructure north of Edmonton, so having these stations available will support residents and travellers to ensure they can drive without range anxiety to their next available charge. This project directly supports the energy transition by expanding the electric vehicles charging corridor in Northern Alberta and serve as an educational tool about cleaner energy sources for transportation and provisions required to support electric vehicle growth in Alberta’s North.
Midlandvale Community Hall Association (Drumheller, Alberta)
The community is working to redesign and replace the existing 25-year-old outdoor rink to build Drumheller's first accessible outdoor rink, skate shack, and recreation area. The goal is to provide residents and visitors of Drumheller and surrounding rural area with a fully accessible, inclusive, and barrier-free recreation public space that can be used year-round. The Skate Shack will incorporate solar panels to power the facility and the funding will support all materials needed to complete the solar panel system. Through our solar panel project, the Association will reduce emissions, incorporate an alternative clean energy source and educate our community and visitors on our commitment to sustainability.
New Myrnam School (Myrnam, Alberta)
The project entitled "Leading Our Community Towards Net Zero" aims to convert the Village of Myrnam's CTEC facility into a net zero electrical energy building. The project is being led by students who have completed a forensic energy audit and presented their findings to the Village of Myrnam Council in November 2022. The students have advised the council that the HRV units need to be on timers to reduce the electricity used, and the next phase is to complete installation of a 17.4 KW DC ground mounted solar array in front of CTEC. The funding will continue to support these energy efficiency and savings initiatives.
Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy (Canmore, Alberta)
The initiative began with two students with the support of the school division to obtain a grant to cover an engineer's time to educate and guide the audit process. The students organized a sleepover with their sustainability club wherein they audited the operations of the school after hours and identified several opportunities including light and ventilation control issues, occupant behaviour changes, and building pressure challenges. After presenting their findings to their School Superintendents and Board of Trustees they retained an engineering consultant to complete an official audit and provide recommissioning activities to solve the building's many control issues causing comfort and energy waste. The funds received by ATCO will support some of the activities that promote energy and environmental improvements to help their school. Their goal is to reduce gas dependence by 28 per cent and electricity use by 8 per cent which will be equivalent of 6.3 FT teacher equivalents or 31 homes.
SAIT (Calgary, Alberta)
To respond to the urgent industry shift towards securing a net zero future, SAIT’s Applied Research and Innovation Services (ARIS) is working across each faculty to incorporate students from diverse disciplines into ongoing applied research exploring clean energy solutions. Over the school year, funding for ARIS’s Student Research Framework pilot will support embedding approximately 45-54 SAIT School of Business students into research projects conducted by the Green Building Technologies Access Centre (GBTAC). This pilot will connect and guide students directly with GBTAC and their partners from the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association (ANFCA) to participate in research projects focused on retrofitting community centres in three Indigenous communities across Alberta. Building retrofits are a key component to meeting Canada’s 2050 Net-Zero goals and positively impact every building-owner, from homes to high rises.
Stepping Stones Crisis Society (Cold Lake, Alberta)
Stepping Stones Crisis Society is embarking on a new, net-zero ready building with a conceptualized shelter model to better support the continuum of care for survivors of family violence. This building is a four-story emergency shelter, second stage shelter, and community resource building in Cold Lake, serving our surrounding communities, municipalities, settlements, and reserves. The funding from ATCO will go towards their net-zero goals that will help reduce carbon emissions and operational costs.
Town of Castor (Castor, Alberta)
With financial support from ATCO, current furnaces that are out of date and no longer energy or cost-efficient in the Town of Castor’s Old Fire Hall that houses East Central Ambulance, will be replaced with energy efficient furnaces. By replacing four units with energy efficient furnaces, this project will not only decrease energy consumption resulting in a reduction of emissions but provide cost savings that enable the Town to invest in future projects that create a positive impact on the environment.
Town of Diamond Valley (Diamond Valley, Alberta)
The funding will be used to support the installation of a grid tied photovoltaic solar system mounted on the roof of the Scott Seaman Sports Rink in Diamond Valley. The system will include 14 kilowatts using Hanwha Q panels with optimizers and solar edge inverter with custom racking. The system will also provide data on the municipal website and is an integral part of the GHG reduction plan for the municipality of Diamond Valley.
Town of Smoky Lake (Smoky Lake, Alberta)
The Town of Smoky Lake is using the funds from ATCO to retrofit the town office to be more energy efficient and provide a more environmentally sustainable facility for residents to gather. These retrofits include replacing the current fluorescent bulbs with LED lighting. With the efficiency of LED lights, the town can also reduce the number of fixtures needed and install motion sensors to further reduce energy use. The funds will also support the updates needed to reroute the duct system to ensure a more efficient and effective heating and cooling system for the building and eliminating the need altogether for individual space heaters.
Town of Trochu (Trochu, Alberta)
This project will complete the transition of the Trochu Arena to sustainable, energy-efficient lighting. Several years ago, the lights over the ice surface were upgraded to LED lighting, which significantly improved the facility's overall efficiency. LED lights use up to 90 per cent less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional lights. The funds received by ATCO will complete the project by replacing the lighting in the arena stands, dressing rooms, maintenance room, mechanical room, and front outside sidewalk. These initiatives will improve the efficiency of the Town of Trochu's largest recreation facility.
Village of Linden (Linden, Alberta)
The Linden Community Centre and Public Works building are the two largest facilities owned by the Village. The funding from ATCO will support the recommended energy efficiency upgrades to these two buildings and serve as a model for other businesses and residents in the village to encourage residents and business owners to make similar environmentally sustainable changes. These upgrades also act as a practical step towards a more sustainable and resilient future which aligns with the Village's aspirations and goals in combating climate change within their community.
