News & Media

What were some findings of the 2021 University of California study?

December 1, 2023

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The UC Merced study showed that covering California’s approximately 4,000 miles of public water delivery infrastructure with solar panels can result in significant water, energy, and cost savings for the state. The study illustrates a savings of some 63 billion gallons of water annually – enough to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or meet the residential water needs of more than 2 million people. Based on data from the published study, the researchers estimated that covering the state’s canals with solar would generate 13 gigawatts of power, which is more than half the projected new solar capacity needed by 2030 to meet the state’s decarbonization goals. As such, Project Nexus is a way to test these conceptual projections at a much smaller scale.