The Toronto District School Board wants its schools to begin producing their own electricity — and have students learn about renewable energy in the process.

Within a year, the board plans to place solar panels and windmills on the rooftops of 10 high schools to generate electricity for use by the school and to sell any excess energy produced to the provincial grid.

The idea came from a Grade 12 student at William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute, David Godri, who convinced his school to install solar power panels on the building's roof.

Simon Carpenter, an English teacher at the school and the project's adviser, said the purpose is not only to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but to educate students.

"So the students are learning about these things and have real tangible results in front of them in their classrooms every single day," said Carpenter.

The province is expected to announce funds for the Toronto school board's initiative on Wednesday.