We seem to be getting into deeper trouble with global warming. There is no guarantee we will even meet our initial global target. The sun is becoming hotter as electricity generation packs more carbon in our atmosphere. Vast solar farms, giant turbines and geothermal plants are on most people’s lips. but these take time. Could solar canal panels add real value as an interim measure?
Could Solar Canal Panels Add Real Value to the Mix?
Our water supplies are getting sparser, as drought and evaporation take their toll. But The Conversation asks what if solar panels did double duty, protecting water supplies while producing more power? This makes sense.
In fact they say California is hard at work developing the United States’ first solar canal system. It’s quite easy imagining them roofing over the state’s water distribution network. Those canals run for 4,000 miles, and we would not need to disrupt nature or agriculture either.
A 2021 report suggested they would save more than 65 billion gallons of water annually, simply by reducing evaporation. Prof Roger Bales of University of California, Merced told The Conversation this saving would meet the residential needs of 2 million people.
Imagine the Additional Green Energy We Would Produce
Now if we factor in the extra energy this produces, we begin to see how solar canals could add real value. That’s because they would reduce the amount of carbon that fossil fuel generation keeps producing. If we had sufficient installed solar energy, we could even start reversing the warming trend although this would take time.
Finally, The Conversation reminds us there is one more bonus to come from solar canal panels. The cooler water would lower panel temperature by around 10 degrees fahrenheit / 5.5 degrees celsius, increasing their thermal efficiency, and that’s food for thought too.
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