A splash of solar power

Toronto is testing the waters of solar energy and swimming pools.

Four community centre pools, at Scarborough Centennial, Agincourt, and two at Jimmie Simpson Recreation Centres have been retrofitted with solar heating installations. The new solar heaters are part of the City of Toronto's Energy Retrofit Program.

And while four pools may not seem like a lot, the change will make a big impact on Toronto's carbon footprint, according to Elena Gruia, project manager of the program.

"These four installations alone are reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by 103 tonnes a year."

Gruia says these four pools are just the beginning .

"We are hoping that the city will have all its own pools, and eventually residential pools heated through solar energy."

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