Solar Canals Already Competitive With Ground-Mounted PV
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on PV Magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
U.S. researchers have assessed the technical and economic feasibility of solar canals in California and have found that their LCOE is already close to that of ground-mounted solar plants. Three different project configurations were analyzed for eight different sites across the California network of canals.
It is a fascinating concept and is already been tried in India.
But apparently, California has the world’s largest network of canals.
Unlike the French system of Floatovoltaics, which I wrote about in Understanding Floatovoltaics, they don’t float the panels on the water, but suspend them with cables or trusses.
But like the French system, they do cut down evaporation.
The Anonymous Widower 
I think the Californian Canals are really for excess water management, and are therefore dry or mostly dry for all but a few days a year.
As seen in many iconic film shots of car chases, dodgy meetups etc.
Comment by MilesT | March 24, 2021 |