AT JACKMAN AVENUE Junior Public School in downtown Toronto, solar panels line the roof, and LED monitors display the school’s daily solar output in the hallways.
The 32-kilowatt rooftop solar array is part of a larger initiative called Action Solar Schools, Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) effort to retrofit school buildings with green roofs, ceiling fans, and UV filters on windows, in addition to adding solar panels, to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions along with heating and cooling costs. The upgrades are also designed to help teach students about energy and emissions saved.
The Toronto District School Board’s investment in solar infrastructure complements the science and technology curriculum, which includes hands-on lessons where students tour the solar installations at their schools and learn about how they help reduce emissions and energy costs. Photo by BlackRockSolar / Flickr.
Schools like Jackman act “as a live tiny generating station,” says Maurice Buonastella, the TDSB manager of energy and climate action. And Jackman is not alone.
Since 2010, the district has installed more than 148,000 solar panels atop 358 elementary, junior, and high schools around Ontario’s capital city. In total, these solar arrays offset about 8,800 tons of the district’s carbon emissions every year. Action Solar Schools now provides both the largest source of solar energy production from schools in Canada and the largest volume of panels to be spread across school roofs. In fact, it’s one of the largest school-based solar portfolios in North America, according to solar energy firm MAG Solar.
This investment in solar infrastructure complements the district’s science and technology curriculum, which includes material on alternatives to oil and gas. For example, in Grade 7, students are taught about climate change impacts and the benefits of switching to renewable energy sources. Hands-on lessons then allow students to tour the solar installations at their own schools and learn about how they help reduce emissions and energy costs.
And the cost savings are significant. The TDSB’s 2024-2025 Climate Action Report notes that just the quarter of the district’s schools that have undergone building upgrades save around US $964,000 in utility costs every year. Additionally, as part of Ontario’s Green Energy Act, the province has promised to buy all electricity that the schools’ solar systems generate for two decades. (This renewable energy feeds directly into the provincial electricity grid for general use in Ontario). Buonastella estimates that this contract has boosted the district’s revenue by around $128,500 annually.
Income from the program has helped establish the board’s Environmental Legacy Fund, which gives teachers money toward a training course in ecological education. The project is a win-win for the district’s budget and curriculum. And best of all: It allows Toronto’s public schools to practice what they teach.
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