The board of governors at Exhibition Place is pushing ahead with the next phase of an ambitious solar-power project that will see the roof of the 44-year-old Better Living Centre covered with sun-catching panels.

A request for bids to install a one-megawatt solar photovoltaic system, big enough to provide electricity to about 800 homes, was issued earlier this month. Prospective suppliers will be taken on a tour of the grounds today to get a more detailed briefing. Final bids are due on April 10.

The initiative will build on an existing pilot project that saw a 100-kilowatt solar system built atop the historical Horse Palace in summer 2006. Victoria-based Carmanah Technologies Inc. built that system for about $1 million.

This time around Exhibition Place doesn't want to own the system. It just wants to show it off.

Prospective suppliers will be asked to install, operate and own the system for 20 years, during which it can earn money back by selling electricity the system produces to the province under its standard offer program.

Exhibition Place brings to the table a network of large rooftops that are ideally positioned for generating solar electricity. It is also in discussions to erect two more wind turbines, part of an ongoing effort to "green up" the tourist-friendly grounds.

Whether companies will bid for the new one-megawatt solar system is unclear. The existing system atop the Horse Palace fell short of expectations by about 25 per cent, generating roughly 88,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity over the year. Carmanah was expecting 120,000 kilowatt-hours.

City officials said the system performed well, although electricity-production estimates were based on old and unreliable climate data for the Toronto area. In other words, the sun didn't shine as long and strong as originally expected.