Solar Canals

A 1 MW solar panel project has been built over nearly half a mile of the Narmada Canal in the state of Gujarat in India. The state government has reported that, this project will not only produce electricity but also conserve land and water. The project is meant to show an efficient use of land in an agricultural region by putting solar panels over a waterway rather than over fertile ground. It also should reduce evaporation of the canal water by an estimated 237,750 gallons of water each year, the state government said. The Gujarat State Electricity Corp. developed the project and hired U.S.-based SunEdison to build it. Figure 1 : Solar Panels over the Narmada Canal, India The idea of putting solar panels over water to save land and water isn’t new, but it’s not widely deployed either. A New York Times story published in 2011 outlined several projects – including two at California vineyards – that have done so b...