Solar canal pilot may one day help California achieve its ambitious climate, energy goals

AS YOU DRIVE through the Central Valley, it is hard to miss the iconic California Aqueduct, which moves millions of gallons of irrigation water through a large canal in the middle of the state. The canal is visible because it’s open on top — a fact that also allows a sizable percent of the water to evaporate, as the region now faces increasingly high temperatures for much of the year.

A few years ago, scientists began asking: What if we covered the canal with solar panels?