Solar-paneled canals getting a test run, could result in significant water savings

A RESEARCH PROJECT conducted by a UC Merced graduate student is becoming a reality as the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) approved piloting the first-in-the-nation construction of solar panels over water canals.

The project is based on research commissioned by a company called Solar AquaGrid through the Sierra Nevada Research Institute and UC Water. Environmental engineering graduate alumna Brandi McKuin was one of the researchers who showed that covering the 4,000 miles of California’s water canals could reduce evaporation by as much as 82 percent, saving about 63 billion gallons of water a year. That’s comparable to the same amount needed to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or meet the residential water needs of more than 2 million people.