The Renewable Urban Energy Project

Why research renewable urban energy?

On August 14, 2003, the lights went out: our fragile power grid had failed and citizens across North America were left without electricity. In the GTA, people sat stranded in poorly ventilated subway tunnels; others scrambled to buy nonperishables, anticipating the long return to power. And as the anniversary of the blackout approaches, we are reminded that although we now know the signs of an impending blackout, we are no more prepared now than during the last power failure. We must search for an alternative, a way of ensuring that the downtown core is self-sustainable with reliable energy and that the lives of our people never see such risk again. No longer do we want to be slaves to the power grid.