-April 2,2021-
Researchers from UC Merced found the benefits of covering California’s canal system in solar panels would greatly outweigh the cost, bringing with it a bounty of clean energy and water savings.California has almost 4000 miles of canals the could be covered with solar panels producing an enormous amount of clean energy every year, and slow the evaporation of valuable water.
That includes the California Aqueduct that spans 444 miles from Contra Costa County in the Bay Area, through the Central Valley, down to Los Angeles County.
The cost could be competitive with ground-mounted installations considering there would be no land costs. Water saved from evaporation is also crucial, as California cities and farmers perpetually thirst for more. Just 2400 feet of canal could produce one megawatt of power. One megawatt of solar energy is enough to replace 15-20 diesel-powered irrigation pumps in California’s Central Valley, an agricultural region with notoriously bad air quality.
UC Merced photo