# @pmi_org on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CqGOUQvreb1
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/5010883-pmi-org-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c38b1241dc.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-03-22T16:04:52.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** PMI (@pmi_org) — https://gondola.cc/pmi_org

## Caption

As California faces spiking electricity rates amid increasing electricity usage, the search is on for reliable, renewable energy options. One promising idea: Cover irrigation canals with solar panels—which wouldn’t just generate eco-friendly energy but would also help battle the state’s water crisis.
 
The idea was inspired by a research paper by University of California-Merced scientist Brandi McKuin, PhD, who found adding the panels would produce much-needed power and also reduce water evaporation by up to 82 percent. And that would be a big win for California, which until recently had been combatting its worst drought in a millennium. Another bonus: The cooling effect of the water could help the solar panels operate more efficiently.
 
Now the US$20 million Project Nexus—which is expected to break ground in the first part of 2023—will put her research into action. Based on a similar initiative in the west Indian state of Gujarat, the pilot calls for placing solar panels atop a 1.3-mile (2.1-kilometer) stretch of aqueducts in the Turlock Irrigation District of the San Joaquin Valley.
 
“There will always be reasons to say ‘no’ to projects like this, but … we aren’t afraid to chart a new path,” says Michael Frantz, the district’s board president.
 
If the state expands the experiment to cover all 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) of California’s canals, the infrastructure could produce 13 gigawatts of energy. That’s enough to power 9.7 million homes—and to help California reach its goal of 60 percent clean energy generation by 2030.
 
Other partners in the public-private-academic project include the California Department of Water Resources and energy project developer Solar AquaGrid.
 
📷: turlockid
 
#MakeReality #RenewableEnergy #innovation #solutions #SolarEnergy #sustainability #ProjectManagement #ProjectManager #California #SolarEnergy #WaterConservation #SolarPower #infrastructure #energy #GreenEnergy cadepartmentofwaterresources ucmerced #WorldWaterDay #ProblemSolving

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- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 181
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## Tags

solutions, solarenergy, projectmanagement, infrastructure, innovation, worldwaterday, problemsolving, renewableenergy, projectmanager, waterconservation, sustainability, energy, solarpower, greenenergy, california, makereality

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