Floating solar panel project in Merced County could save millions of gallons of water a year

by Patty Guerra, UC Merced April 14, 2024April 12, 2024

An array of solar panels floats on top of ponds in a framegrab from video. Scientists at University of California, Merced, are teaming up with the state and local water agencies to test the effectiveness of solar canals. If successful, the project could expand to more than 4,000 miles of California waterways, preventing the evaporation of 63 billion gallons of water per year — enough to provide the needs of 2 million residential water customers. (Fig 1 by University of California/YouTube)

FEDERAL AND STATE government officials journeyed to the western corner of Merced County earlier this month to announce a new project to place solar panels on the water in the Delta-Mendota Canal.

The project is part of a $19 million investment through President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act announced by the Department of the Interior to install panels over irrigation canals in California, Oregon and Utah, with the aims of decreasing evaporation of critical water supplies and advancing clean energy goals.

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