25GW! US proposes to develop open-air canal PV resource

Recently, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation received a letter signed by more than 125 groups urging them to develop an initiative to develop solar energy facilities over federally owned and operated canals and ferries.
The request, signed by many leading climate and environmental organisations, highlights the opportunity to cover 8,000 miles of open canals with solar capacity. An estimated 25 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power nearly 200,000 homes, could be installed at these sites, the organisation said.
"The Bureau of Reclamation has full authority to implement the plan. Congress has provided clear authority to the Department of the Interior to grant leases to authorise the use of Bureau of Reclamation lands, including for utilities, transmission lines, and other appropriate uses," the letter said.

Installing solar on the canal would provide significant additional benefits.
First, it saves public lands from development.The Energy Act of 2020 authorises the deployment of 25 GW of onshore renewable energy on public lands without destroying an additional acre of habitat. Covering the Bureau of Reclamation Canal alone would achieve this goal.
In addition, solar canopies on canals result in less water evaporation through shading and cooling. The groups estimate that this move could reduce evaporation of tens of billions of gallons of fresh water. This could be critical because despite a wet winter, much of the western U.S. remains in a prolonged drought that could worsen as climate change intensifies.
The Bureau of Reclamation and the states that depend on the Colorado River are already considering unprecedented water shutdowns to protect the water supply for the 400,000 people who depend on the river," the letter said. "In a study examining similar actions on California's aqueducts, scientists estimated that shade provided by solar panels could reduce water loss from evaporation by 6.3 billion gallons of water annually, equivalent to the water use of about 20,000 people per year.
Many federally operated canals are located in environmentally protected communities, which means that adding significant solar capacity could really help promote the use of new energy products in those communities most affected by fossil fuel production and consumption.
California's Central Valley Project is one large canal system that uses about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to pump water each year alone. And solar energy, which is closer to these systems, would provide an efficient water flow system that would replace the diesel generators used today.

"Given the Bureau of Reclamation's long history of creating hydroelectric power, generating gigawatts of solar power on its canals would be a sheer added benefit and could even help solve the problem of power generation shortfalls, as hydroelectric facilities are not functioning due to low water levels," the letter said.

The construction of solar facilities on canals is gaining popularity all over the world. Projects are underway in California, India, Spain and France, many with large utility-scale capacity. Of course open-air canals are also developed with aesthetics in mind.