Someone has suggested installing banks of solar panels above California canals it would both generate power in an otherwise unused area, and it would reduce water loss through evaporation as the water flows hundreds of miles to its end users.
Seems like a win-win:
A public-private-academic partnership plans to install solar panels over water canals in California in a bid to produce clean energy and help preserve the state's dwindling water resources.
OK, let me qualify that: Except for the whole "Public-Private Partnership" bit, it sounds like a win-win.
When you think of PPPs, think, "Chicago Parking Meter Deal."
The purpose of such deals is to allow private actors to use public infrastructure to extort from the public.
………
Project Nexus was inspired by a 2021 study by University of California researchers that was published in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Typically, 1% to 2% of the water that circulates through California’s canals evaporates, a number that is expected to increase due to the climate crisis.
Using data from satellites, climate models, and automated weather stations, the peer-reviewed study estimated that covering all of the approximately 4,000 miles of California’s canals could drastically reduce evaporation, saving 63 billion gallons of water annually—comparable to the amount of water required to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or meet the water needs of more than 2 million people.
If California better managed its water resources, things like requiring farmers to pay the actual cost of water, and mandating low water technology in agriculture, they would probably save 10 times as much.
Note that agriculture accounts for 80% of all water use in California.
2 comments :
I wonder if the humidity from the evaporation would damage the solar panels, though?
I don't think so. The solar panels would get hot, and hence be dry. Also, they would be open on the sides, allowing wind to blow through.
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