A new solar project in California’s Central Valley has taken a unique approach to renewable power by placing panels directly above canals. Known as Project Nexus, the 1.6-megawatt system was completed at the end of August with $20 million in state funding. The installation covers stretches of the Turlock Irrigation District’s waterways, which run through one of the nation’s most important farming regions.
This is only the second solar-canal project in the United States. The first began operating in October 2024 on the Gila River Indian Community reservation near Phoenix, Arizona. That effort, developed for the Pima and Maricopa tribes, already has two more canal-top arrays in progress.
In California, construction took place in two stages — a 20-foot-wide section was finished in March, followed by a much larger 110-foot-wide span in August. Researchers will now monitor how the system performs, while a statewide partnership led by universities and Solar Aquagrid looks to expand the model across more canals.
Supporters say the approach delivers multiple benefits. Panels suspended over water stay cooler, which can improve electricity output. Their shade also reduces evaporation — a critical advantage in drought-prone regions — and limits algae growth in waterways. By using existing infrastructure, solar-canal projects avoid taking farmland out of use and often connect more easily to local power lines compared to large utility-scale solar farms.
Why disturb land that has sacred value when we could just put the solar panels over a canal and generate more efficient power?
David DeJong, director of the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project.
So far, the power from these arrays is mainly used for on-site canal operations such as pumps and gates. But experts say the long-term potential is far greater. A coalition of U.S. environmental groups has estimated that covering about 8,000 miles of federally owned canals and aqueducts with panels could produce over 25 gigawatts of renewable electricity — enough to power nearly 20 million homes — while saving billions of gallons of water from evaporating each year.
