The installation of solar panels over the Narmada Canal (water body) in the Indian state of Gujarat offers an interesting case study because it solves multiple problems and creates a Win-Win situation.
What is the Narmada Canal Solar Project?
The Narmada Canal is a manmade water body that transports water from a river to many rural areas for farming, drinking, etc. The Gujarat Govt. (in India) decided to install solar panels (as shown in the above video) over the top of the canal, partially covering the water (below) for a distance of about 1 KM. The rated capacity of installed solar panels comes to around 1 MW and it provides electricity to 7-8,000 houses around the area, serving 20-25,000 people.
Benefits:
- Provides electricity to rural areas that were not connected to the grid (earlier). Mainly used for lighting and cell phone charging. Rated capacity: 1 MW.
- Saves around 90,000 liters of water as solar panels cover the top of the canal (preventing some of the sun's heat from passing below), and windshields prevent wind from carrying away the water vapour formed just over the water. There is a gap between each row of solar panel where sunlight passes through, but the over-all sunlight exposure (and evaporation) is reduced.
- Prevents the formation of algae (to a certain extent, as they need sunlight to grow) that could choke pipelines drawing water from the canal.
- Keeps the solar panels relatively cool (due to the running water below it) and hence increases the energy output.
- Saves a lot of space as empty lands might have otherwise been required to fix all these solar panels. That saves a considerable amount of money (required to buy land), as well.
This project was executed by SunEdison. Check this pdf report to get further details on this innovative project. Don't you think it's a good idea to cover water bodies (canals) with solar panels in order to generate electricity and save ground-space? I think it's a good idea as long as it is near to the rural areas (that are not connected to the grid) and there is a substation somewhere nearby to evacuate all that power immediately.
