Description
California solar panels tower over canals in Turlock, proving to save water, produce clean energy and improve local water quality.
California’s extensive network of canals and aqueducts is the lifeblood of the state, providing clean water to populous cities and expansive farms that wouldn’t otherwise have it. While the state has long struggled with evaporation, researchers at UC Davis estimate that California’s total water supply could shrink by up to 25% by 2050, the equivalent of two Lake Shastas. They attribute the decline, in part, to hotter temperatures caused by climate change.
In an effort to limit warming poised to dry out the state, California pledged to shift to 100% clean electricity by 2045.
Thinking back to the baking concrete canals, Jordan Harris pitched an “obvious” solution to his friend Robin Raj: Why not build solar panels on top of California’s 4,000 miles of open canals that transport water across the state? The panels would produce clean energy while limiting evaporation by shading the canal — a win-win.
The duo went on to start Solar Aquagrid, an advocacy firm dedicated to reimagining aging canals, and partnered with the Turlock Irrigation District, UC Merced and the California Department of Water Resources to cover small sections of Turlock’s canals with solar panels. The new “solar canal” provides shade to limit evaporation and generates power all in one neat package. They call it Project Nexus, and it operates at the intersection of the state’s need for clean water and energy.
Project Nexus tests not one, but three different solar canal models. A wide-span canopy rises over one of Turlock’s 115-foot canals, resembling the top of a barn. A more classic set of slanting solar panels sits atop a 20-foot canal. And accordion-like retractable panels are positioned low across the narrow canal, ready to roll up at a moment’s notice.
Roger Bales, a professor at UC Merced who co-authored a 2021 study that helped convince the state to invest in this pilot, estimates that the narrow and the wide canal could generate 330 to 1,400 megawatts per hundred miles respectively — enough to power 77,000 to 304,000 households.
Read for more information at kqed.org/news
This story is part of Flipping the Switch, KQED’s series about California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. What works? What doesn’t? And how much does it cost?
✍️: Ella Jackson
📹+ 🎬: Gina Castro