Construction has begun on a pilot project to install solar panels over two sections of Central Valley canals, just outside of Keyes.
Project Nexus, which studies significant power and water issues, has already garnered recognition for its innovative approach to conservation and sustainability.
The initiative — a partnership between Turlock Irrigation District, the California Department of Water Resources, UC Merced, and Bay Area development firm Solar AquaGrid — received the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Award from the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance.
“TID is proud to lead this collaborative team of public, private, and academic partners,” said Brad Koehn, who took over as TID general manager in June. “Project Nexus is a perfect example of an innovative and creative project that provides multiple benefits to both our water and electric customers.”
CCEEB describes itself as a “nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of business, labor, and public leaders, which advances balanced policies for a healthy environment and a strong economy.”
The award named after Brown — California’s governor from 1959 to 1967 and a champion of economic growth alongside environmental measures — is designed to recognize an individual or organization whose activities exemplify the principles of environmental and economic balance.
Concrete supports have been installed along one of the canal spans to anchor the solar panels, while data-gathering equipment also has been put into place. Full buildout is set to begin this fall, after the irrigation season, with completion anticipated in 2025.
Project Nexus, the first of its kind in the nation, emerged after Solar AquaGrid commissioned a 2021 study — led by UC Merced researcher Brandi McKuin — to predict the potential power generation and water savings from placing solar panels over canals. The study showed that by covering all of the nearly 4,000 miles of California canals could show a savings of 63 billion gallons of water annually, comparable to the amount needed to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or meet the residential water needs of more than 2 million people. According to the study, the 13 gigawatts of solar power the panels would generate each year would equal about one sixth of the state’s current installed capacity.
TID agreed to host the pilot project, while DWR awarded $20 million in funding and is providing technical assistance to TID to study the project. The funding was allocated by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature through 2021-22 state budget.
UC Merced researchers also are involved in a federal project to float solar panels in the Delta Mendota canal, which was announced by the Department of Interior in April.
"California is pioneering innovations to tackle our biggest challenges, and here in the Central Valley we're addressing two big challenges at the same time — generating clean electricity and conserving water,” Newsom said at a press conference earlier this year where he announced the Department of Interior project and highlighted work done on Project Nexus. "Companies are coming to California because we're embracing innovation and we have the talent and infrastructure to foster new technologies that will solve not only California's, but the world's, biggest challenges."
In addition to generating renewable energy and reducing evaporation losses, solar panels over irrigation canals have the potential to increase efficiency of and the production from solar panels because of the cooling effect of the water beneath the panels; create land savings for open space and agricultural use; reduce facility maintenance by mitigating algae and/or aquatic plant growth; and reduce the energy footprint and carbon emissions required to operate and maintain the facility.
In accepting the award, Koehn acknowledged the importance of the project not just statewide but globally, as others could look to replicate it.
