Stanislaus County's Canal-Top Solar Project Sets New US Standard
Stanislaus County has pioneered a unique solar project, installing photovoltaic systems on a 30-meter-wide section and a 6-meter-wide canal. This is the first US effort of its kind, involving collaboration between public, private, and academic sectors, using TID's infrastructure and grid access.
The Nexus project, a 1.6 MW solar installation, is now complete and operational. It serves as a proof of concept to study the design, implementation, and co-benefits of canal-top solar. A University of California, Merced, study estimated that covering California's 4,000 km of canals could save 63 billion gallons of water annually.
A battery energy storage system has been installed at the narrowest canal site, using 75 kW iron flow batteries from U.S. manufacturer ESS. Each ESS container provides 400 kWh of peak energy and has a lifespan of more than 20,000 cycles. RWTH Aachen University is involved in collecting baseline data at the two Nexus project sites.
The $20 million state-funded pilot in Stanislaus County is presented as a model for agricultural regions affected by water stress. TID is also studying potential improvements in water quality from reduced vegetative growth, demonstrating the multifaceted benefits of this innovative solar project.
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