Science
Irrigation canals covered in solar panels are an unusually powerful combination – Anthropocene Magazine
This one simple trick generates renewable energy, saves billions of gallons of water, and shrinks farmers’ carbon footprint—all at the same time.
Shading Californias irrigation canals with solar panels could reduce pollution from diesel irrigation pumps while saving a quarter of a billion cubic meters of water annually in an increasingly drought-prone state, a new study suggests.
Pilot studies in India and small simulations have shown that so-called solar canals have lots of potential benefits: Shading the water with solar panels reduces water loss from evaporation and keeps aquatic weeds down. Meanwhile, the water creates a cooler microclimate…
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