HOW SOLAR PANELS CAN HELP SOLVE CALIFORNIA'S DROUGHT

Start A "megadrought" that has lasted 1,200 years and counting is currently ravaging the southwestern United States. Since the beginning of the scientific record, which began around the year 800, the soil hasn't been this dry, according to research published earlier this year. This has significant ramifications for the nation's food supply because we depend on California, a state on the west coast, for the production of more than a third of the nation's vegetables and three-quarters of its fruit and nuts. However, University of California researchers have suggested a solution that may be able to address both the water and energy challenges at the same time: solar panels placed over irrigation canals. But does it bear any more weight than a typical renewable gimmick? Let's investigate further to find out. Welcome to Undecided, I'm Matt Ferrell. We discuss solar a lot, and for good reason—it's a serious contender in the field of renewable energy. Nevertheless, it would be negligent of us to ignore its shortcomings. One is that there is a limited amount of space available for those photovoltaic panels, which must go somewhere. The difficulty with space is crucial for context; we'll discuss how solar can help with water in a moment. Consider India, where 72% of the nation's electricity was produced by coal-fired plants during 2018 and 2019. The nation also has a sizable population that would greatly benefit from a dependable, abundant source of clean energy, 300 sunny days per year, and 300 bright days on average. There aren't many places to collect it, which is the difficulty. India's high population density (with an average of 464 people per square kilometer) and relative high cost of land make matters more difficult. With a certain amount of sunny building space, rooftop solar can only go so far. However, when used wisely, dual-use technologies like agrivoltaics demonstrate that symbiotic interactions between solar panels and their surrounding surroundings are feasible. We've observed this in action on farms where plants grown directly beneath solar panels are not only protected from wind and storms but also use a great deal less water in the shadow. The crops themselves actually keep the panels cooler, which improves their performance. If you're interested, you may watch another video I made on this. In the description, I'll include a link. This is so that they won't overheat, which is contrary to their intended use.

At or below 25 C (77 F), their electrical components operate at their peak efficiency of 20%. For every degree above 25 C, solar panels lose between 0.3% and 0.5% of their efficiency. Because of this, places where temperatures can soar to exceed 50 °C (122 °F) experience substantially harsher effects on efficiency. Why does this matter to canals? Here's where water enters the picture: As you might expect, elevating a solar farm over the open ocean raises the bar for temperature control. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the consequent cooling effect results in an efficiency that is up to 15% higher than that of conventional land-locked solar. Hello and welcome to the world of floating photovoltaics, sometimes known as floating solar farms. Similar to Murphy beds in the solar realm, floating photovoltaics are somewhat uncomfortable. Open-water solar panel installation offers all the benefits of renewable energy while utilizing previously wasted surface area. Aqueducts, canals, and reservoirs are the ideal locations for floating solar farms because they are man-made bodies of water. This is due to the fact that they are usually tranquil, rather simple to access, and less harmful to aquatic life. Most significantly, these water features provide underutilized workspace. Nobody wants to construct condos atop these vehicles, at least not yet. Don't give them any inspiration. One possibility is combining solar panels on boats with hydropower. A nearby lake is usually used by hydropower projects to store extra water. With just a few adjustments, you may increase energy production by installing floating solar on these lakes and sending electricity straight to the plant's current infrastructure. The benefits of floatovoltaics used in conjunction with hydroelectricity are substantial. According to a June article in Nature, installing solar panels on just 10% of the world's hydroelectric reservoirs would provide about 4,000 GW of solar capacity. This is equal to the combined ability of all fossil fuel-based power plants in the world to produce energy. But it's crucial to remember that floatovoltaics aren't totally suitable for every biome and may still require the addition of other renewable energy sources, depending on their location. However, when they do function best, a little goes a long way. According to a study, countries like Brazil and Canada would only require approximately 5% of their reservoirs to be covered with solar panels in order to supply their needs by the year 2050.But how specifically might floating solar aid in the water crisis' resolution? Before I get there, I want to thank Incogni for sponsoring this part of the film today. I recently signed up for a newsletter from a business; I won't say which one, but when I did, I noticed a significant spike in the number of promotional emails I was receiving from businesses I'd never heard of. And the reason why is because they sold my personal information to a data broker. My information has also frequently been compromised by data breaches at organizations like Target, Sony, and others. You have probably also gone through it. This is where Incogi can help.

Although it takes a lot of time and work, we have the right to ask data brokers to remove our records. After registering with Icogni and giving them the authority to act on my behalf, I simply sat back and unwinded. The data brokers to whom legal requests have been submitted and the ones who have complied will be updated in your account. It is quite simple. For a while now, Incogi has been keeping an eye on this for me, and I'm pleased with the outcomes. Give Incogni a try if you'd like to regain some control over who has access to your personal information. The first 100 customers who utilize the promo code UNDECIDED at the following site will receive 20% off Incogni. We appreciate your support for the channel, Incogni, and all of you. Reverting to the water situation, floating solar can help. Under hot conditions—which, of course, are getting hotter thanks to climate change—floatovoltaics on canal tops are particularly helpful. Recall the issue we previously discussed regarding solar energy in India? Rising temperatures in Gujarat are producing more "water stress" as irrigation canals deteriorate. But installing solar panels over a canal helps keep the water from evaporating in addition to producing clean electricity and saving space. When a floating solar pilot project was developed in 2012, engineers started to take advantage of the space atop canals along the state's Narmada river. A 750-meter section of the canals had solar panels installed by the time it was finished. As a result, the Vadodara district's first sizable canal-top solar power plant, costing $18.3 million, was built in 2015. At least eight Indian states have launched canal solar projects after Gujarat's pioneering floatovoltaic venture. This includes a farm with a capacity of 100 MW that spans 40 kilometers and is anticipated to cost 1 billion Indian rupees (about $13.9 million USD). The use of floating solar panels has also been explored in the US. The first public floating solar array in the nation was installed in Kelseyville County, California, in 2018 by the Ciel and Terre firm. The 720 solar panels that make up this 252-kW farm float on a constructed wastewater treatment pond. The US Army's first floating structure was located on the other coast, at the Big Muddy Lake solar farm in Fort Bragg. This 1.1 MW installation, which was put in place in June of this year and is currently supplying power to 190 houses and 2 MWh of battery storage, is the largest of its sort in the Southeast US. The Healdsburg Floating Solar Farm is the largest floating solar farm operating in the United States at the moment. 8% of Healdsburg's annual electricity needs are met by this 44.8 MW farm, which is situated on two 15-acre ponds. In order to capture both direct sunlight and sunlight reflected off the water, it also uses solar panels with two faces. The water-conservation benefits of floating solar are especially pertinent to California at this time because of the megadrought in the southwestern United States. The state stands to lose a lot given its water scarcity and air pollution problems. Currently, initiatives are being taken gradually to transition to carbon-free electricity by 2045. The 4,000 kilometers of irrigation canals that carry water to farmers around the state make up the largest water conveyance system in the world. University of California, Berkeley researchers examined the effects of
found that by reducing evaporation, covering those miles with solar panels may save up to 63 billion gallons of water annually. This would irrigate around 50,000 acres of crops, or the residential water requirements of about 2 million people. Additionally, it is predicted that California could generate 13 GW of solar energy—roughly half of what is required to satisfy the state's clean energy targets—if all of its canals and aqueducts were lined with solar panels. That's a wonderful sentiment, but how can we be sure it's applicable? The solution is Project Nexus. Project Nexus is actually the real-world testing phase of the University of California's research and the first endeavor of its sort in the United States. The Turlock Irrigation District intends to cover California's canals with open-sided solar panel canopies by the end of 2023, drawing direct inspiration from Gujarat. The goal of this pilot phase is to demonstrate the concept's practicality. The project now has $20 million in the state's current budget, and work is scheduled to begin this fall. In order to conduct testing, it will be necessary to erect three sections of the Turlock Irrigation District's canals with a total length of around 8,500 feet of solar panels. The canals have widths between 20 and 100 feet. Researchers will keep an eye on elements that affect productivity, such as the performance of monofacial versus bifacial solar panel designs and the distinction between mounting on a steel truss support and cable suspension. They will also look at storage options for the local energy system in case of blackouts or cloud cover. In order to keep costs down and productivity up, the project makes use of pre-existing infrastructure on already-developed property, all the while promoting the tradition of sustainable farming in the area. In addition, the new canals in California may use 50% fewer resources than those in India, and they may be constructed with more room around the panels for simpler maintenance. In the grand scheme of things, the actual size of these installations is quite small. Only around two of the 4,000 miles of canals in the state will be covered by Project Nexus' panels, which will generate roughly 5 MW of electricity. Nevertheless, this creates the ideal environment for researchers to see how the advantages of this technology emerge over time. So what are the benefits and drawbacks? So let's start with the positive. Without a doubt, installing solar panels on floating platforms minimizes the impact on the surrounding nature and populated regions. In order to generate one gigawatt of electricity, solar farms typically require at least 20 times more land than fossil fuel power plants. However, installing floating solar doesn't require you to clear many trees or otherwise damage vast areas of land. Simply observe Gujarat. According to the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation, you could generate 18,000 MW of power and preserve 90,000 acres of land if just 30% of its 80,000 km of canals were converted to solar. What really distinguishes floating photovoltaics is their versatility. In theory, you could install solar panels in any body of water, including lakes, oceans, reservoirs, and particularly sizable puddles. On some of these locations, installing solar panels may represent a relatively low opportunity cost, particularly on reservoirs or areas with no other usage. You are essentially wasting watery real estate if it is left unused and has no other desirable uses (like recreational fishing). Utilizing existing buildings has even greater benefits when you consider that developers can avoid complicated environmental permitting and right-of-way restrictions. Because there is less red tape in the way, they can implement these technologies more rapidly and affordably. The whole infrastructure also receives a boost. Farmers can use the electricity produced by canal-top solar during the time when irrigation is most

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