Open prairie, high rates, real savings.
St. Paul sits in ATCO Electric's territory in the northeast, where distribution charges run higher than across most of Alberta. On a power bill that's a frustration — but it quietly flips the moment panels go on the roof. The more you pay for a kilowatt-hour, the more each one you make yourself is worth, and out here that gap is wide.
Pair that with the open, unshaded prairie exposure that made the town a sky-watching landmark in the first place, and solar here is a genuinely strong investment — whether it's a roof in town or a ground-mount on a County acreage. Cold helps too: panels run more efficiently in it, so a crisp clear winter day is a productive one, and net metering carries your long-summer credits straight through the short days of January.
A landing pad, and a better idea.
In 1967, for Canada's centennial, St. Paul built the world's first UFO landing pad — a thirty-tonne welcome mat for visitors who still haven't shown up. More than half a century on, it remains the most famous patch of clear sky in the country.
There's a more down-to-earth way to use a sky like that: point it at your roof. The same wide, open, unobstructed exposure that made St. Paul a place to watch the heavens is exactly what makes it excellent for solar — proven, terrestrial, and quietly saving you money for twenty-five years and more.
the year St. Paul rolled out the welcome mat for the sky. Now it's your roof's turn to make the most of it.
The colony
Founded as Saint-Paul-des-Métis, a farming community on the open prairie.
The landing pad
The world's first UFO pad, built to welcome the sky for Canada's centennial.
The clear-sky town
That same exposure, finally put to work generating power on local roofs.
It's ATCO Electric.
This is the one detail most out-of-town quotes get wrong. The northeast is not FortisAlberta territory — your wires company is ATCO Electric. The poles and the meter are theirs, and your micro-generation paperwork gets filed with them. Name the wrong distributor and the application stalls before it begins.
How net metering works is the same province-wide: ATCO fits a bi-directional meter, every surplus kilowatt-hour you export is credited kWh-for-kWh, and unused credits roll forward for twelve months. Alberta's retail side is deregulated, so you keep whichever electricity retailer you like — we handle the ATCO application from start to finish.
What a system costs.
No mystery pricing. Cash comes in at $2.80 per watt for a typical install, with smaller systems running slightly more per watt as fixed costs spread over fewer panels. Each quote is built from your actual twelve months of ATCO bills. Roughly:
Cash earns the best price, but $0-down financing through Financeit, mortgage roll-in and HELOC options are all on the table. Critter guard and our lifetime leak-proof roof guarantee come with every install. Run your own numbers →
Around St. Paul.
The town core & downtown
Established homes near Main Street with a mix of roof shapes — straightforward rooftop work once we map the sun path.
Newer subdivisions
Clean, simple modern rooflines on the town's edges, ideal for a larger system covering the house and an EV.
County of St. Paul & Lac St. Cyr
Open acreages and lakeside lots with the unshaded southern exposure that suits a ground-mount sized to the whole operation.
Elk Point, Ashmont, Mallaig & St. Vincent
County hamlets and farms across the region — rooftop in the village, ground-mount on the land.
What the County says.
The team was knowledgeable, professional, and took the time to explain everything clearly. They made switching to solar feel simple and stress-free.
Best company we dealt with — true professionals, and the best pricing for what they actually deliver. They even called us a year after install just to check on the system.
We have had our solar panels up and running for about a week. Up to this point we would highly recommend Stellar Upgrades if you are considering solar panels.
Down-to-earth answers.
Sources, not science fiction.
See your St. Paul numbers.
Fifteen minutes, no obligation. We size a system to your ATCO bills and give you the real figures — and if the numbers don't favour your place, you'll hear that from us too.
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★★★★★ 500+ installs since 2018 · 5.0 on Google · Master Electrician on every job
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