‘A complete no-brainer’: How Toronto’s parking lots could drive a green-power revolution

If one-half the area of the 7,000 large parking lots in Toronto were to have solar panels installed above the cars, the electricity generated would be 2.5 times more than the polluting Portlands gas plant currently produces.

This hopeful finding is part of a new report commissioned by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) and reported in the Toronto Star. OCAA chair Jack Gibbons is clear: “It’s one of the simplest, most pragmatic, lowest cost options to phase out the dirty Port Lands gas plant. It’s just a complete no-brainer.”

Solar-equipped parking lots are being implemented in countries like France, adding clean energy to the grid while providing shade and protection from snow. But there isn’t government support here. A key hurdle is that solar panel owners cannot sell electricity into the grid (as they once did). Without this, there is little incentive for parking lot owners to install solar panels.

Gibbons notes that the Ontario government’s “electricity policies benefit the largest energy corporations, like Enbridge Gas, TC Energy and Bruce Power. But they’re not in the best interests of consumers, public health or our climate.”