Two years after city council passed a
Toronto Hydro proposal to better embrace solar power, the solar panels are about to start going up on the first three of the city's municipally owned buildings.
The plan, a sort of pilot project, calls for panels on 10 city buildings, the first three of which, Mimico Arena, York Mills Arena and Goulding Park Community Centre/Arena, will start getting their photovoltaic panels this week.
The city estimates that once all 10 buildings are outfitted with the projected 8,800 panels, they will generate the equivalent of about $16 million in revenues for the city over the next two decades. The electricity will enter the Toronto Hydro grid and be bought by the Ontario Power Authority. The city estimates that the new panels will save about 480 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
"The city is our shareholder," says Toronto Hydro's Jennifer Link. "It's a good opportunity to generate revenue for the shareholder. We do have experience in the renewable space and I think it's an area we do explore occasionally."
The remaining seven buildings are Police College, Agincourt Park Arena, Victoria Village Arena, Malvern Community Centre, Grandravine Community Centre/Arena, Roding Community Centre/Arena and McGregor Park Arena.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Jennifer Link, Spokesperson, Toronto Hydro
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