Near future
Contact us
  • Home
  • Tech
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Architecture
  • energia
  • Transportation
  • Spazio
  • AI
  • concepts
  • Gadgets
  • Italy Next
  • H+
June 26 2022

Coronavirus / Russia-Ukraine

Near future

Put the solar on the canals: because the panels on the waterways are brilliant

Building photovoltaic panels to cover irrigation canals? A fantastic solution: renewable energy, ecology and water saving in one go.

Gianluca Riccio di  Gianluca Riccio
July 10 2021
in Environment
channels
Send to FacebookPin on PinterestSend on TwitterSend on Whatsappon Linkedin

In an old interview, well-known astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson jokingly said that ours are already flying cars, as tunnels and overpasses allow them to access the third dimension. Following this reasoning, "flying solar panels" were also born in India and California. Already: photovoltaic systems "suspended" above the irrigation canals. 

It is a brilliant way for me to reduce two key factors: the loss of habitat due to the space usually required by solar panels and the evaporation of the irrigation canals. Yes, since the shade provided by the panels protects the water in the canals from the evaporative heat of the sun.

Solar on irrigation canals: born in India, arrives in California

With the largest irrigation canal network in the world and approximately 290 days of sunshine per year, California is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this emerging innovation. The University of Santa Cruz (UCSC) is studying this method as a possible solar energy generator that would save as much as 234 BILLION liters of water per year (63,5 billion gallons). A gigantic change for a state that is sometimes forced to ration water, and which regularly suffers from drought.

Maybe you are also interested

Philippines, the largest solar park in the world cuts 1,4 million tons of coal

REPowerEU, solar mandatory in the new EU plans: is it feasible?

Create 'renewable' or rather 'perpetual' bio photovoltaic cells

Ultra-thin “honeycomb” solar panels achieve record efficiency

However, the history of photovoltaics on the canals starts in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2014. There, a 750-meter pilot project led to the creation of an entire solar plant on canals in the Vadodara district, and another of 100 megawatts off the Narmada River.

Indian researchers were the first to discover that the water under the solar panels runs colder and results in an average increase in efficiency of between 2 and 5%.

irrigation channels
The placement of solar panels on Gujarat's irrigation canals.

The projections on the "Golden State"

Brandi McKuin and his colleagues at UCSC modeled the pros and cons of solar coverage of the more than 6.000 miles of canals in California. They took the mission very seriously, "testing" three separate techniques for measuring water loss in different areas through evaporation to figure out which construction method would be the most efficient on a large scale. 

Their results published on Nature Sustainability they shape a very bright future.

As mentioned, if crossed by solar panels, the canals in California would save billions of liters of water annually. Savings that also reduce land costs, maintenance of aquatic plants and an electrical surplus. The most efficient method tested? The construction with steel cables.

That's not all: diesel-powered water pumps are now used to guide the flow of the canals. They would be replaced by solar-powered generators. Finally, removing land from the panels means returning it to native fauna, or to sustainable farms to improve local economies and food supply.

It is a very important step to encourage investment in this direction. Renewable energy and water saving, all in one. Does anyone want to understand the feasibility of a similar technology in Italy?

tags: PVsolar

Maybe you are also interested in:

Wood fiber bottles
Environment

Carlsberg tests wood fiber beer bottles. Better than glass? Mmm

semiconductor hemlock
Environment

Solar, among the cleanest energy sources in the world: but it can get better.

spray coating
Environment

A plant-based, antimicrobial 'coating spray' keeps food fresh

COLLABORATE

To submit articles, disclose the results of a research or scientific discoveries write to the editorial staff
  • solar paint

    Solar paint: where are we?

    378 Shares
    Share 151 Tweet 94
  • BrintØ, an artificial island to produce green hydrogen

    148 Shares
    Share 59 Tweet 37
  • Move objects with thought? Telekinesis is a matter of technology

    141 Shares
    Share 56 Tweet 35
  • Meta shows the impact of the Metaverse in its new campaign

    371 Shares
    Share 148 Tweet 93
  • New 3D batteries: electric vehicles over 98% charged in less than 10 minutes

    1335 Shares
    Share 534 Tweet 334

archive

Have a look here:

Weather

Chronicles from a future where work is a choice, not an obligation

And if struggling every day for decades for a paid job were no longer the focus of our life ...

Read More
sense of self brain scans

Brain scans confirm: a part of you remains "you" forever

virtual reality asked

Celebrations in churches and corporate meetings: VR begins to take hold

sphere 1

Sphere, the geode house that can be printed and built in 24 hours

Jet Capsule, Lazzarini's “compact yacht” is bigger and faster

The daily tomorrow

Futuroprossimo.it provides news on the future of technology, science and innovation: if there is something that is about to arrive, here it has already arrived. FuturoProssimo is part of the network ForwardTo, studies and skills for future scenarios.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Environment
Architecture
Artificial intelligence
Gadgets
concepts
Design

Staff
Archives
Advertising
Privacy Policy

Medicine
Spazio
Robotica
Work
Transportation
energia

To contact the FuturoProssimo editorial team, write to [email protected]

Chinese Version
Édition Française
Deutsche Ausgabe
Japanese version
English Edition
Edição Portuguesa
Русское издание
Spanish edition

The daily tomorrow

Futuroprossimo.it provides news on the future of technology, science and innovation: if there is something that is about to arrive, here it has already arrived. FuturoProssimo is part of the network ForwardTo, studies and skills for future scenarios.

Chinese Version
Édition Française
Deutsche Ausgabe
Japanese version
English Edition
Edição Portuguesa
Русское издание
Spanish edition

Staff
Archives
Advertising
Privacy Policy

Subscribe to our newsletter

To contact the FuturoProssimo editorial team, write to [email protected]

Categories

This work is distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.
© 2021 Futuroprossimo

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Tech
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Architecture
  • energia
  • Transportation
  • Spazio
  • AI
  • concepts
  • Gadgets
  • Italy Next
  • H+