The Gila River Indian Community and the US Army Corps of Engineers have made a historic deal that will allow Arizona to build the first solar-covered river in the US.
The solar panels, which will be put along a 305-meter section of the 1-10 Level Top canal, will produce renewable energy while reducing water evaporation in the desert region, which is now experiencing drought conditions.
The Canal Solar Power Project in Gujarat, India, which began in 2012, serves as inspiration for the project. Despite competition from a similar project in California, the Arizona initiative, with a budget of $6.74 million (€6,165 million), is set to become the first of its sort in the United States.
Solar photovoltaic shades will operate as a barrier, limiting water evaporation in the desert heat by looking upwards to catch abundant sunlight. The water beneath the panels will aid in cooling, keeping the panels at ideal operating temperatures. The first phase of the project is expected to generate about 1 MW of renewable energy for tribal farmers.
Such solar-covered canals offer enormous potential for both energy generation and water conservation if widely deployed. According to experts, covering all of California's canals with solar panels may save over 65 billion gallons of water every year by reducing evaporation. The Arizona project is a significant step toward sustainable energy solutions, leveraging existing infrastructure to improve both energy and water supplies.
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Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master, it was rightly said. Electronic devices have grown into an inevitable part of our daily lives.
