California to Become First State to Install Solar Panels Over Water Canals

Conceptual illustration of a solar canal. (Image: Turlock Irrigation District) When it comes to firsts, California’s on a roll. Last month the state became the first to budget in its own insulin manufacturing, and last week California legislators made a historic vote to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars after 2035. Though less flashy, the state recently claimed yet another first by planning to install solar panels over its canals.

California is home to about 4,000 miles of canals. For decades these complex networks have delivered more than 600 million gallons of water per day to agricultural areas and to residents throughout the state. At the same time, California’s water supply has dwindled. Rising temperatures, groundwater depletion, and decreased precipitation have resulted in an unprecedented, years-long drought, bringing the state’s reservoir levels down to the lowest they’ve been in a century. This has prompted legislators, researchers, and environmental activists to seek out ways to protect California’s water supply.

Conceptual illustration of a solar canal. (Image: Turlock Irrigation District)

The 8,500 feet of solar panels installed over central California’s Turlock Irrigation District (TID) will have two purposes: to save water and to generate clean energy. According to a study conducted by the University of California, Merced in 2021, these so-called “solar canals” will save more than 65 billion gallons of water per year by preventing the water from evaporating in the sunlight. They’ll also generate 13 gigawatts of energy per year, matching about a sixth of California’s current solar capacity.

These 13 gigawatts would help the state meet key clean electricity goals. Last year, the state’s air, energy, and public utility agencies announced a plan to gradually make California’s energy grid carbon-free.  The plan involves building at least six gigawatts of new renewable and storage resources annually to make 60 percent of the state’s energy sources carbon-free by 2030 and 100 percent carbon-free by 2045. Once the solar panels are installed over the canals, the state will have exceeded its goal for 2022.

The University of California’s study also suggests that the solar panels’ shade will help temper aquatic weed growth within the canals. Aside from being a bit of an eyesore (and sometimes producing a nasty odor), aquatic weeds consume water that would otherwise eventually reach a predetermined destination. When they’re particularly prolific, canal weeds can even inhibit water flow.

Turlock Irrigation District, central California’s water and energy utility organization, has already begun developing prototypes of the solar canal covers in the Central Valley. All 8,500 feet are expected to be completed by late 2023.

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