image: Artist’s rendition of Project Nexus wide span site — the state’s first solar canal pilot — under construction in California’s Central Valley with Turlock Irrigation District. Credit: Solar AquaGrid
Credit: Solar AquaGrid
A groundbreaking initiative led by faculty from seven top research universities — six of which are in California — aims to accelerate the deployment of solar arrays over the state’s extensive canal network.
According to a 2021 University of California, Merced, study published in Nature Sustainability, covering large sections of the state’s 4,000 miles of canals with arrays of solar panels could help conserve water, reduce air pollution, save land and generate clean energy using existing land and infrastructure.
The California Solar Canal Initiative (CSCI) research project aims to accelerate the deployment of solar canals across the state by equipping government agencies, utilities, community members and other interested parties with data on optimal locations and identifying willing host communities.
Led by the University of Southern California (USC) Dornsife Public Exchange and independent advisory Solar AquaGrid, CSCI researchers will closely collaborate with the state agencies responsible for water, land and energy: California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and California Energy Commission (CEC).
“California is leading the way in exploring innovative solutions to tackle climate change and strengthen our water and energy resilience,” said CNRA Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “We are excited to see top research institutions come together to help deploy solar panels over water canals — a big idea with great potential. Science-driven collaborations like this one are critical to guide our path forward.”
CSCI researchers will evaluate solar canals’ potential to:
- Address the needs of a rapidly changing energy market;
- Through co-benefits, be competitive with other distributed-solar projects;
- Enhance current canal operations and maintenance procedures;
- Navigate existing water and land regulations; and
- Provide numerous benefits to communities where projects are developed.
USC Dornsife Public Exchange has assembled a multidisciplinary research team from faculty at seven universities: USC; UC Merced; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Irvine; University of California College of the Law, San Francisco; San José State University; and University of Kansas.
The CSCI research is being guided by an advisory council of experts from government, academia and the private sector to ensure that its outcomes are actionable. The advisory council, chaired by Solar AquaGrid, includes members from DWR, CNRA, CEC, California Forward, New Energy Nexus, Environmental Policy Center and Stanford Water in the West.
The Potential of Solar Canals
While not all canals are suitable for solar installations, the UC Merced study estimated that covering all 4,000 miles of California’s exposed canals with solar panels could:
- Generate enough electricity to power about 2 million homes each year;
- Conserve enough water to meet the residential needs of up to 2 million people annually; and
- Reduce land use by up to 50,000 acres by placing solar arrays on existing infrastructure.
The study also indicated that covering significant portions of canals could provide benefits beyond power and water, including:
- Lowering maintenance costs by shading the canals, which reduces weed growth in the canals;
- Enhancing the efficiency of the solar panels due to the cooling effect of the water below; and
- Creating local jobs to install and maintain the systems.
Although California experienced multiple episodes of intense rainfall and flooding emergencies in the past two years, scientists predict the state will continue to swing between intense rainfall and prolonged droughts. Droughts have plagued the state for thousands of years, but they are worsened by climate change, emphasizing the continued need to conserve water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting the state’s increasing energy needs.
More information about CSCI — photos, a fact sheet, the names of faculty from each university and their areas of research — can be found at: https://publicexchange.usc.edu/csci-media-kit/.
Next Step in State’s Commitment to Renewable Energy and Land Conservation
CSCI represents a next step in the state’s commitment to exploring solar canal deployment to meet its 2045 clean energy goals and 30x30 conservation commitment. Those goals led to the creation of Project Nexus in 2023, the state’s first solar canal pilot project currently under construction in the Central Valley. The pilot is funded by the state of California and is a public-private-academic partnership between Turlock Irrigation District, Solar AquaGrid, UC Merced and the California Department of Water Resources.
About the Partners
Based at the University of Southern California, USC Dornsife Public Exchange connects a wide range of academic researchers with policy, industry and nonprofit partners that need their expertise to tackle complex challenges. The Public Exchange team is the project manager for CSCI. Its responsibilities include assembling and managing the faculty research team from the seven universities. The USC faculty associated with the project are from the USC Price School of Public Policy and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering[JB4] .
Solar AquaGrid is an independent advisory, envisioneering and advocacy firm committed to conserving water in an age of historic drought by addressing our water/energy nexus and covering our exposed canals with solar coverings to reduce evaporation, generate clean energy, save land and achieve numerous economic, environmental, and social advantages. The firm originated Project Nexus, the first solar canal pilot in California, after commissioning a UC Merced study in 2015 that revealed multiple potential benefits and is facilitating collaboration among public, private and academic partners to test different technologies and bring the solution to scale.
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) sustainably manages the water resources of California, in cooperation with other agencies, to benefit the state’s people and protect, restore and enhance the natural and human environments. This includes the State Water Project (SWP), the nation’s largest state-built water conveyance system. Sustainability is a priority as California strives to meet the water needs of today and those of the future while protecting and enhancing the environment. DWR is thus committed to exploring all efforts meant to advance the integration of renewable energy to provide clean energy to California.
California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) works to restore, protect and manage California’s natural, historical and cultural resources for current and future generations using creative approaches and solutions based on science, collaboration and respect for all communities and interests involved. CNRA oversees and supports more than 26 distinct departments, conservancies and commissions, and over 21,000 Californians work within CNRA across the state.
California Energy Commission (CEC) is the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency. It has seven core responsibilities: advancing state energy policy, encouraging energy efficiency, certifying thermal power plants, investing in energy innovation, developing renewable energy, transforming transportation and preparing for energy emergencies.
###