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43Campus / Climate

The roof becomes part of the lesson

OISE’s new solar installation turns an overlooked surface into a working part of campus infrastructure.

Reported by Amy Noise

Aerial view of the solar panels at OISE.
CampusAerial view of the solar panels at OISE.Photo: David Lee / University of Toronto

The roof of OISE is gaining 299 double-sided solar panels, lifting the St. George campus total above 2,600. Once online, the array is expected to provide about 10 per cent of OISE’s annual electricity needs.

The project makes a building do two jobs at once: host teaching and research, and demonstrate what decarbonization looks like when it is built into the everyday campus.

Sources 1
  1. Original reporting · utoronto.ca
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This story is from the August 2026 issue of Alumni Digest · U of T. It's free, monthly and independent.

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