This Solar Plan Could Protect Water and Land While Generating Clean Energy

Engineers have developed a solar-canal solution to protect water supplies whilst boosting renewable energy, and it will be tested in California, United States as part of the American state’s desire to conserve 30% of land and coastal waters by 2030.

“In a 2021 study, we showed that covering all 6,500 km of California’s canals with solar panels would save more than 295 billion liters of water annually by reducing evaporation,” says Roger Bales, a distinguished professor of engineering at the University of California. “That’s enough to irrigate 20,234 hectares of farmland or meet the residential water needs of more than 2 million people.”

The solution the engineers propose could provide some 13 GW of renewable energy capacity, half of what California needs to meet its clean electricity goals: 60% from carbon-free sources by 2030 and 100% renewable by 2045. By building long and thin solar arrays, some 32,000 hectares of natural habitat and farmland could avoid being converted into solar farms. This is a very promising development for California, which produces more than 50% of the entire country’s consumption of fruits, vegetables, and nuts.