Costa, Biden-Harris Administration announce $15 million to Install Solar Panels over Delta-Mendota Canal
FRESNO, Calif. – Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced $15 million to install solar panels over the Delta-Mendota Canal as part of an initiative to study the water efficiency gains and the amount of clean energy produced for future larger-scale implementation.
“Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we are making groundbreaking investments to advance the integration of renewable energy into our water systems. I’m proud to have led this effort in Congress to build drought resilience across California. Innovative projects like this will power local homes and save water from evaporation annually.” said Costa.
The Biden-Harris Administration announced a total of $19.5 million for water projects in California, Oregon, and Utah – funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. Costa led the effort to secure report language from his bill, the Canal Conveyance Capacity Restoration Act in the Inflation Reduction Act that would invest $25 million for the design, study, and implementation of projects to cover Reclamation-related water conveyance facilities with solar panels.
A study by the University of California, Merced gives a boost to the idea, estimating that 63 billion gallons of water could be saved by covering California’s 4,000 miles of canals with solar panels that could also generate 13 gigawatts of power. That’s enough for the entire city of Los Angeles from January through early October.
BACKGROUND ABOUT THE PROJECT
The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the University of California-Merced will collaborate through a public-private-academic partnership to assess the impacts of floating photovoltaic solar arrays on the Delta-Mendota Canal.
The pilot intends to deploy potentially up to three floating solar technologies to assess the viability, costs, and benefits of floating solar over canal technologies on large conveyance facilities like the Delta Mendota Canal. The initiative will also validate floating photovoltaic design for moving water, identify and address issues related to maintaining a canal with panels on it, explore the power generation potential, and develop methods to quantify impacts on water quality.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is also investing $8.3 billion over five years in water infrastructure projects, including rural water, water storage, conservation and conveyance, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination. In the first two years of its implementation, Costa has secured over $250 million to invest in Valley water projects like B.F. Sisk Dam and the Friant-Kern Canal. (Learn More)