This fall, 126 schools will be turning on more cleaner and renewable sources of power, like solar, wind and geothermal, creating cleaner and more sustainable places to learn for Ontario students.

Using renewable energy will help schools reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, save money on energy costs or earn revenue by selling electricity back to the grid.  Schools and boards will reinvest savings and revenue to support improved student achievement and success.    

Investing in our schools is an important part of the McGuinty government’s Open Ontario plan to strengthen and protect public education.

• In 2009-10, Ontario school boards spent nearly $400 million on utility bills.
• Since 2009, the McGuinty government has invested more than $620 million to make Ontario’s schools cleaner, more sustainable places to learn. As a result, more than 2,400 schools have benefited from more than 4,200 clean energy projects.
• From that investment, $50 million went toward solar, wind and geothermal technologies as a part of the Renewable Energy Funding for Schools program.
• Solar panels and wind turbines can sell electricity back to the grid through the MicroFIT Program, an important part of the Green Energy Act.
• Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan includes increasing the province’s renewable power supply from sources like wind, solar and bio-energy by more than 500 per cent, up to 10,700 megawatts.
• Ontario now has more than 1,500 megawatts of wind power online generated by more than 800 wind turbines. In 2003, there were only 15 megawatts of wind power generated by 10 turbines. This is a 100-fold increase in wind power capacity.

• Find out more about capital investments in Ontario’s schools.
• Read about Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan.
• ontario.ca/education-news