Scientific Innovation: cover the CAP canal with solar panels

The other day I posted about Scientific Innovation: Solar Roadways that could revolutionize energy production and transportation.

Here’s another scientific innovation that will leave you asking “Why did no one think of this before?” Well someone has, just not our short-sighted politicians in Arizona who are bought and paid for by APS and SRP. They get away with it because they believe that you don’t know about things like this — and now you do.

The Hindu Business Line of India reports, Now, Gujarat to cover Narmada canals with solar panels:

Close on heels of commencing use of wastelands in northern districts and rooftops in towns and cities, Gujarat is set to potentially use the existing 19,000 km-long network of Narmada canals across the State for setting up solar panels to generate power.

Canal solar power: Gujarat has attracted investments of Rs 9,000 crore so far on solar energy projects.

The Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the first of a series of this project, known as Canal Solar Power Project, when he launches a 1 megawatt (mw) pilot project, which is already commissioned, on Narmada branch canal near Chandrasan village of Kadi taluka in Mehsana district on Tuesday.

Last week, he inaugurated a 600-MW solar power project spread across 11 districts. This included a 214MW Solar Power Park, the largest such generation centre at a single location in Asia. Also, Azure Power, leading independent power producer in solar sector, announced a 2.5 MW rooftops project in Gandhinagar.

Gujarat, which invests nearly Rs 2,000 crore an year on renewable energy, has attracted investments of Rs 9,000 crore so far on solar energy projects.

The pilot project has been developed on a 750-m stretch of the canal by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), which owns and maintains the canal network.

The pilot project will generate 16 lakh units of clean energy per annum and also prevent evaporation of 90 lakh litres of water annually from the canal, an official told Business Line here on Monday. The concept will, therefore, tackle two of the challenges simultaneously by providing energy and water security.

The cost of per megawatt of solar power, in this case, is likely to be much less than the estimated Rs 10-11 crore, as the two banks of the canal will be used to cover the canal by installing solar power panel and the government will not have to spend much on creating basic infrastructure, including land acquisition .

Today, Gujarat has about 458 km of open Main Canal, while the total canal length, including sub-branches, is about 19,000 km at present.

When completed, the SSNNL’s canal network will be about 85,000 km long.

Assuming a utilisation of only 10 per cent of the existing canal network of 19,000 km, it is estimated that 2,200 MW of solar power generating capacity can be installed by covering the canals with solar panels.

This also implies that 11,000 acres of land can be potentially conserved along with about 2,000 crore litres of water saved per annum.

Think about this: the Central Arizona Project canal (as well as other canal systems in Southern California) could be covered with solar panels to (1) produce solar energy and (2) to reduce the evaporation of water transported in the canal. And there would be no need to tear up the desert for solar farms that the utilities prefer to roof-top solar panels. Why would anyone not want to do this?

This should be an issue for the candidates running for Arizona Corporation Commission and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD). The media needs to ask the candidates questions about this scientific innovation.