Construction is underway on an innovative solar panel project geared toward preserving Valley canal water while simultaneously generating renewable energy.
Project Nexus is a pilot program to install solar panels above two sections of Turlock Irrigation District canals. In addition to being an energy source, those panels can keep more water from evaporating in the notorious Valley heat.
The project is coming to fruition thanks to UC Merced researcher Brandi McKuin, who studied the potential benefits associated with using solar panels over canals.
Concrete supports have been installed along one of the canal spans to anchor the solar panels, according to a UC Merced news release. Data-gathering equipment also is in place, and the project is expected to be completed next year.
UC Merced researchers also are involved in a federal project to float solar panels in the Delta Mendota Canal.
University researchers have theorized that using solar panels to shade California’s 4,000 miles of canals and aqueducts could save up 63 billion gallons of water annually that would otherwise be lost to evaporation.
That’s enough water to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or provide water to the homes of more than 2 million people.
Even though the innovative project has yet to be completed, it recently garnered the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Award from the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance, according to the release.
The award recognizes an individual or organization whose activities exemplify the principles of environmental and economic balance.
Additional partners involved in the project include California Department of Water Resources and Bay Area development firm Solar AquaGrid.
The Department of Water Resources awarded $20 million in funding for the project, along with technical assistance to Turlock Irrigation District to study it.