"The Canal Solar Power Project is a solar canal project launched in Gujarat, India, to use the 532 km (331 mi) long network of Narmada canals across the state for setting up solar panels to generate electricity. It was the first ever such project in India. This project has been commissioned by SunEdison India."
more_corn · 1d ago
Solar over water is a great idea. The solar prevents evaporation, the water cools the panels and increases efficiency. The question is does the increased complexity of installation pencil out financially.
nothercastle · 21h ago
Water + salt = corrosion
throwaway4220 · 20h ago
But this is not seawater right
nothercastle · 14h ago
All water has dissolved minerals. Salt water has more and is worse but river water has some too.
metalman · 18h ago
you forgot to add in ,zero land costs, and a certainty that the solar coridor will intersect
transmission lines.also it is a fact that agriculture is now useing water at non sustainable rates, so every drop saved is significant, and I would not be surprised if they are evaluating, "curtaining" the remaining air gaps and attempting to elliminate evaporative loses.
As far as "complexity" goes, I take that you mean in comparison to perfectly flat level ground, that is cheap, and located next to transmission lines, and markets, in an area with easy permiting requirements.Here's the rub though, any large scale mega project is a beast to spool up, but once it get's moving it becomes routine and if the quality of engineering and management is up to it, then efficencys of scale will tend to zero out minor quirks.
"The Canal Solar Power Project is a solar canal project launched in Gujarat, India, to use the 532 km (331 mi) long network of Narmada canals across the state for setting up solar panels to generate electricity. It was the first ever such project in India. This project has been commissioned by SunEdison India."