Hello, dear readers! Today, I’m excited to share some fascinating updates from the solar industry that truly showcase the transformative potential of solar. It’s about a novel concept: outfitting water canals with solar panels – a symbiotic relationship between water conservation and renewable energy!
This groundbreaking idea is part of an initiative stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act which has allocated a substantial $25 million specifically for researching, designing, and implementing solar panels at water reclamation facilities. As a solar expert, this noteworthy move resonates with the innovative spirit that fuels the development of solar technology.
Let’s explore: three water canals located in California, Utah, and Oregon (hello, West Coast!) will undergo projects designed to cover the water surfaces with solar panels. Thanks to this investment, these projects will be receiving a combined amount of $19.5 million.
Imagine a canal fully outfitted with an array of solar panels for your home, turning glaring sunlight into usable energy while providing welcome shade to the water beneath. This harmonic interplay offers significant dual benefits: reducing water evaporation (think water conservation!) and lowering the operating temperature of the solar panels, increasing their efficiency and longevity. Overall, this project beautifully merges the missions of solar companies to generate renewable energy while aiding water conservation efforts.
Have you ever thought of solar panels floating on water? If not, you’re not alone. Yet that’s exactly what is planned for the largest project among the trio happening in California at the Delta-Mendota Canal. Here, the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority aims to give life to floating solar arrays, riveting us with a sci-fi yet entirely feasible present day reality.
What’s more interesting is that the University of California-Merced will study the project in a public-private partnership. They will experiment with various floating solar technologies to understand their benefits, costs, and the robustness they deliver. We’ve had solar arrays for homes, but having a solar array for a water canal? Now that’s pioneering!
According to a study conducted in 2021 by the University of California, Merced, solar panels covering around 4,000 miles of public water delivery system infrastructure in California could generate a colossal 13 GW of energy annually. This could equate to considerable water savings – around 63 billion gallons every year, enough to cater to the needs of over 2 million residents.
Beyond improving photovoltaic (PV) performance and decreasing evaporation, outfitting water canals with solar panels can help reduce maintenance needs by curtailing aquatic plant growth, conserve agricultural lands, and decrease the energy and carbon footprint of water reclamation facilities – how’s that for a multi-serving solution?
Kudos to the solar companies for their relentless innovation! I hope this encourages all of us to integrate more solar panels for our homes. Stay tuned to this space for more exciting news and innovations from the world of solar. Let’s power up, sustainably!
Original Articlehttps://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/04/08/solar-on-canals-to-test-potential-to-conserve-land-and-water-in-west/
