For the thousands of miles of canals in India, evaporation is a major concern. And for many citizens of India, inconsistent power is just a fact of daily life. Enter a new project the state of Gujarat in India: covering canals with solar panels.
Working in partnership with SunEdison India, the Indian government plans cover the more than 19,000 kilometers (or about 11,800 miles) of canals in Gujarat with solar panels. For right now, the project is limited to a small pilot project, with just 750 meters covered, producing 1 megawatt of energy. But if the project could indeed cover the entire canal, India believes it could produce much, much more power—a tremendous boon to a country still undergoing an energy crunch.
The solar panels do more than generate energy—they also can help prevent water from evaporation. If the project is completed, India estimates that 90 million liters of water could be saved from the sun's rays.
Said U.N. Secretary GeneralBan Ki Moon, during an inauguration ceremony for pilot project earlier this year: "I saw more than glittering panels – I saw the future of India and the future of our world. I saw India's bright creativity, ingenuity and cutting-edge technology."
Saving water while reaping the sun's power—sounds pretty cutting-edge to us.
Correction: An earlier version of the this article stated that Gujarat was a district, not a state. We have also removed a reference to 2.2 gigawatts of power being produced by the final project due to uncertainty about the actual potential power produced. If we can find a more accurate number, we will update. We regret the errors.
