California: Irrigation canals generate solar power
Numerous benefits are expected from installing solar panels on the Golden State's canal network - for the economy and also for the environment. In this way California could generate green electricity directly where it is needed.
Due to a very uneven distribution of water, irrigation canals are crucial in California. Since most precipitation falls in the north, but the most populated areas with higher water demand are in the south of the region, a widely ramified canal network has developed over time. However, this irrigation system could soon play yet another role in the lives of Californians.
For some time now, researchers have been proposing to cover each of these with solar modules and thus contribute to green electricity generation on a large scale. If the entire 6,000-kilometre-long canal network were equipped with solar modules, about 13 gigawatts of green electricity could be produced. A potentially large amount that - at least in purely mathematical terms - could be enough to supply 9.75 million of the total 13.1 million households with sustainable electricity. Before this becomes possible on such a large scale, the twenty million dollar project will first start with a smaller test run.
This will first test how much energy can actually be generated and, at the same time, what other advantages the system will bring. The experts actually assume that the solar collectors will also benefit the underlying sewer network. Above all, they are said to be able to reduce the evaporation process and improve the water quality - which consequently leads to a low number of maintenance operations. And all this without taking up additional space that is often supposed to be dedicated to other activities in such a heavily built-up region.
Until the tests begin and the first solar panels are installed this autumn, however, all these advantages will remain theoretical for the time being. The project is scheduled to end in 2024, by which time the authorities will have been able to collect enough data to decide whether to expand the system with a more extensive extension. If the project proves successful, it could be a turning point for California and the energy sector in general. A breakthrough innovation that could meet the electricity needs of people and industry without forgetting to protect the environment.
After all, the state needs new solutions to meet the rising demand for electricity and thus prevent power grid loadings such as this summer's blackouts - if only for the energy-intensive charging of e-cars. Since California, like many other countries worldwide, will also ban the sale of combustion cars from 2035.