A Canadian fix for a very Canadian problem is getting a closer look.

Researchers at Western University in London, Ontario, have designed a floating solar system meant to stop ice from forming on lakes and ponds during winter, a barrier that has helped keep floating solar rare in Canada.

Floating solar panels, sometimes called floatovoltaics, are already growing in use in places including Japan, France and Paraguay because they generate clean energy without taking up land. But Koami Soulemane Hayibo, a postdoctoral researcher at Western University, said that in Canada, “your main challenge is going to be winter ice formation.”

Hayibo and his colleagues tested their design on an artificial pond in southwestern Ontario and published the results in the journal Applied Energy.

Hayibo said he became interested in solar energy because of its potential to bring inexpensive, clean power to places such as Togo, where he grew up and where electricity was a luxury many people did not have. He said that while solar panel prices have fallen, the metal racks used to mount them on land are still expensive. “That’s where we can reduce the price more,” Hayibo said.

In the experiment, the solar panels were attached to inexpensive plastic foam instead of metal supports. But when ice builds up and weighs down the foam, it can spread over the panels and stop them from generating electricity.

To deal with that, the team placed bubblers, similar to those used to aerate aquariums, about 30 centimetres below the panels. The bubblers pushed warmer water to the surface and kept it moving, which prevented ice from forming.

The researchers calculated that running the bubblers could use up to 14.5 percent of the electricity generated by the panels. Even so, floating solar panels usually generate more electricity than similar land-based systems because water helps keep them cool and improves efficiency.

The team estimated the net cost of the electricity at about three cents per kilowatt-hour, similar to other solar installations in Canada. That was with a system size of seven kilowatts, about the size of a small rooftop array, and before it had been optimized for efficiency.

The researchers are now testing the water to see if the foam is shedding microplastics. They are also working on features including the angle of the panels to reduce snow buildup.

Hayibo said the technology could be scaled up for former mines, pumped-storage hydro facilities, reservoirs and ponds where evaporation is a concern because the panels can reduce water loss. It could also be used on a smaller scale in backyard pools and ponds that are not being used. “Anywhere that people will need a tarp to cover a surface,” Hayibo said.

Ibrahim Dincer, a professor at Ontario Tech University, said the system is “really interesting.” He said companies that make floating solar systems already offer other cold-climate options, including leaving a large gap between the panels and the surface of the ice. He added that solar-powered aerators beneath floating panels have also been tested for uses including aquaculture and improving water quality.

Dincer said the success of this new version will come down to commercial uptake.

Waste heat from data centres is also getting attention in Ontario, as Hamilton debates proposed data centre developments and the heat they could release into surrounding areas.

James Cotton, a professor in McMaster University’s department of mechanical engineering, said waste heat from data centres, restaurants, power plants and other buildings could be reused if it is managed properly. He described reusing waste heat, or energy harvesting, as “an excellent decarbonization strategy” and “something that you’re going to see an awful lot of” in relation to data centres.

At a May presentation in Ottawa, Cotton said 70 percent of the energy used by buildings in Canada goes to space and water heating. He said much of that demand, now supplied by electricity and natural gas, could be displaced by waste heat.

That would involve keeping excess heat in liquid and piping it to other places where it could warm water or indoor spaces.

Cotton co-directs the McMaster Institute for Energy Studies and leads Harvest Systems Inc., a company spun out of his university research that focuses on reusing heat produced by restaurant cooking equipment. He told CBC Hamilton he has previously worked with s2e Technologies, the company proposing a data centre at the former newspaper building on Frid Street, and has a longstanding partnership with Hamilton Community Enterprises, which supports a local industrial redevelopment that could include data centres.

Supporters of Hamilton data centre projects have already raised the idea of reusing the heat they would generate. Milfred Hammerbacher, chief executive of s2e, previously told CBC Hamilton his company is looking at using waste heat from its proposed data centre to power neighbouring heat pumps.

Slate Asset Management has also said it is “exploring data centre uses” for part of its Steelport waterfront development. On its website, the company says Steelport is studying the possibility of recapturing heat from data centres, “offering a cheap source of decarbonized waste heat for Steelport tenants, and with the potential to provide waste heat back to the downtown core.”

Hamilton Community Enterprises completed a study in 2025 that found reusing heat from Bayfront industrial buildings “is both technically feasible and commercially viable.”

Cotton said in his Ottawa talk that if data centres are designed poorly, they could create heat islands and raise nearby temperatures. He said a “massive” data centre at Steelport could instead be designed to harvest waste heat for residential buildings in the industrial area and Hamilton’s downtown.

In an interview, Cotton said his team has mapped 22 data centres around the globe, including one in Markham, Ontario, that are already reusing heat. He also noted that a supercomputer in Waterloo, Ontario, is recycling heat.

A March 2026 report by MaRS Discovery District examined waste heat recovery as one way to reduce emissions from data centres and “reducing system-wide heating demand and emissions.” The report recommends that policymakers require data centre projects to mitigate energy use with technologies including waste heat recovery.

Some critics in Hamilton have questioned if data centre companies will actually use the best available technology. On June 24, Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann, who moved a motion for a data centre moratorium, said a pause would give city leaders time to decide how operators should do business. She said sustainability and renewable energy should be baselines for new developments.

Cotton said energy harvesting has been slow to catch on in Canada. In his Ottawa presentation, he said the country has 217 thermal networks that deliver heat as hot water, making up 2.2 percent of Canada’s heating supply. Europe has more than 6,000, serving more than 100 million people.

“It’s feasible. It just has to be done,” Cotton told CBC. “I think that the opportunity to do it is right here in Hamilton and to be a leader for the entire country.”

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