Gujarat canal-top solar generates power while saving 2.38M gallons of water
A solar power project in Gujarat, India, has installed panels over an irrigation canal, generating electricity while simultaneously reducing water evaporation. This dual-use infrastructure model saves millions of gallons of water and avoids the need to convert agricultural land into solar farms.
Why it matters
This model offers a sustainable solution for regions facing both energy demands and water scarcity, maximizing land-use efficiency.
When it comes to solar panels, they are usually spread across rooftops or open fields where they serve more purposes than just providing energy. But near Chandrasan village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, a roughly 2,460-foot ribbon of panels sits above moving irrigation water, turning an existing canal into both a power site and a shade structure.A solar plant on the waterThe Gujarat State Electricity Corporation developed the canal-top plant with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam, the public company that owns and maintains the canal network. Commissioned in 2012, the installation placed solar equipment on an elevated steel structure spanning about 0.47 miles of a branch canal.A conventional utility-scale solar project usually needs a large, unobstructed plot.
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