Solar Power And Water Conservation In One

California alone has some 4,000 miles of canals bringing water to parts of the state that are increasingly short of the precious resource. With the oppressive heat returning year after year, a good portion of that canal water evaporates and is lost before it reaches its destinations. One company, Solar AquaGrid, is betting that an investment in solar panels that cover the canals and reduce evaporation will enable not only water conservation but generate large amounts of electricity. The Associated Press covers the story:

"With devastating heat, record-breaking wildfire, looming crisis on the Colorado River, a growing commitment to fighting climate change, and a little bit of movement-building, their company Solar AquaGrid is preparing to break ground on the first solar-covered canal project in the United States.

'All of these coming together at this moment,' [Solar AquaGrid principal] Jordan]Harris said. 'Is there a more pressing issue that we could apply our time to?'

The idea is simple: install solar panels over canals in sunny, water-scarce regions where they reduce evaporation and make electricity.

A study by the University of California, Merced gives a boost to the idea, estimating that 63 billion gallons of water could be saved by covering California’s 4,000 miles of canals with solar panels that could also generate 13 gigawatts of power. That’s enough for the entire city of Los Angeles from January through early October."  (our emphasis)

Those estimates are about to be put to the test in Project Nexus, located in California's Central Valley agricultural empire, with the results of the study by the University of California, Merced in hand to stimulate interest. The State of California has committed to getting the project going:

"The state committed $20 million in public funds, turning the pilot into a three-party collaboration among the private, public and academic sectors. About 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometers) of canals between 20 and 110 feet wide will be covered with solar panels between five and 15 feet off the ground.

The UC Merced team will study impacts ranging from evaporation to water quality, said Brandi McKuin, lead researcher on the study."

They already have the benefit of lessons learned from similar projects in India, where capital costs, maintenance and design problems have hampered wide adoption, but will be used to improve U.S. designs and installation in a cost-effective way.

Climate advocacy groups are pressing the Interior Department to "accelerate the widespread deployment of solar photovoltaic energy systems” above the Bureau’s 8,000 miles of canals and aqueducts eventually. It seems to be a single, workable solution to a two-part problem: conserving water and generating clean solar power. Once design and cost matters are resolved, let's hope this project and similar ones proceed rapidly.

(image: Artist rendering of a Project Nexus solar canal cover. Solar AquaGrid)