U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02) will install solar panels on irrigation canals as part of an effort to study improved water efficiency and the amount of clean energy generated for future large-scale deployment. announced the disbursement of $19.5 million from President Biden's U.S. investment agenda. Of this funding, he awarded $15 million to the San Luis Delta-Mendota Water Authority for the Delta-Mendota Canal Floating Solar Power Project.
Projects in California, Oregon, and Utah are being funded by the Inflation Control Act (IRA), which makes $25 million available to design, study, and implement projects that cover reclamation-related water conveyance facilities with solar panels. Congressman Huffman created a provision in the IRA that allows for this funding.
“This announcement is an important milestone in our efforts to combat climate change and transition the country to clean, green energy.” It's a smart solution that leverages clean energy technology to increase efficiency and reduce carbon emissions and canal water loss through evaporation,” said Congressman Huffman. “Thanks to the visionary efforts of stakeholders, engineers, climate experts, and many other partners with whom I have worked on this issue over the years, we now have the funding to make our vision a reality. We were able to make preparations to secure it.”
Announced projects include:
- San Luis Delta-Mendota Water Authority, Delta-Mendota Canal Floating Solar Power Project (California), $15 million. The agency, the Landfill Act, and the University of California, Merced will work together through a public-private-academic partnership to assess the impact of a floating solar array on the Delta-Mendota Canal. This pilot will potentially deploy up to three floating solar PV technologies to evaluate the feasibility, cost, and benefits of floating solar PV technologies over canals on large transportation facilities such as the Delta-Mendota Canal. It's a schedule. The initiative will also validate floating solar power designs for moving water, identify and address issues related to maintaining paneled canals, investigate power generation potential, and improve water quality. We plan to develop methods to quantify the impact.
- North Unit Irrigation District, Main Canal Floating Photovoltaics Project (Oregon), $2.55 million. The district plans to build floating solar panels on the main canal at the Deschutes project near Bend, Oregon. This project evaluates the impact of floating solar panels on improving water efficiency and the amount of clean energy produced.
- Solar panels for Weber Basin Water Conservation District, Layton Canal Project (Utah), $1.5 million. The district will cover the existing canal above the Layton Canal near West Haven, Utah, with solar panel structures that span the canal. This project will serve as a five-year demonstration of data collection and monitoring to assess technical capacity, economic feasibility, and potential for full-scale implementation of both the landfill and the district. The project will improve water quality by reducing algae blooms along canals, produce renewable energy to offset pumping station usage, sell back to power companies, and significantly reduce water loss through evaporation. It is expected that this will be reduced.
In 2015, Congressman Huffman released a discussion draft of a comprehensive bill to address America's growing water crisis. Following unprecedented public input, he introduced the Drought Relief and Resilience Act (HR 2983) based on ideas and feedback from nearly 1,000 Californians. Provisions of this law supporting floating solar panel projects were eventually incorporated into the Inflation Control Act to provide funding for these projects.
Installing solar panels on irrigation canals can provide a variety of benefits, including:
- Reducing evaporation losses from canals
- Improving solar energy efficiency and production
- Save land to reserve open space and agricultural land
- Minimize canal maintenance by slowing the growth of aquatic plants
- Reducing the energy footprint and carbon footprint required to operate and maintain facilities
Through the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, Reclamation will also support water infrastructure projects such as rural water, water storage, conservation and transportation, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination. It has invested $8.3 billion over five years.
News article from the office of Congressman Jared Huffman
