Sign up to receive daily news updates from CleanTechnica by email. Or follow us on Google News.
Projects funded by President Biden’s Inflation Control Act will simultaneously boost renewable energy generation and water conservation
WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior today announced $19 million from President Biden's Investment in America Plan to install solar panels on waterways in California, Oregon and Utah, while reducing evaporation of critical water supplies and advancing clean energy goals. announced an investment of US$.
Assistant Secretary of Water Science Michael Blaine and Bureau of Reclamation Director Camille Karimrim Touton join state and local officials to announce the Delta Mendota Canal Floating Solar Power Project, which will receive $15 million in today's funding. did.
“President Biden's U.S. investment policy provides historic new resources to advance clean energy goals and invest in innovative solutions that make Western communities more resilient to drought and climate change. “We got that,” said Michael Blaine, assistant secretary for water and science. “Working with states, tribes, and local stakeholders, the Department of the Interior will continue to invest in critical water infrastructure projects that will reduce the worst impacts of climate change and invest in communities across the country.”
“Like much of our work, Reclamation could not achieve our mission without the valuable cooperation of our partners,” said Reclamation Chair Camille Karimrim Touton. Ta. “We look forward to leveraging funding from President Biden’s Invest America Policy to work together on this novel idea to conserve water and generate renewable energy. The project will help inform similar projects to better understand their impact and share that information with the public so we can all understand its scale and associated benefits. ”
Installing solar panels on irrigation canals can provide a variety of benefits, including:
- Renewable energy generation.
- Reduce canal evaporation losses.
- The cooling effect of water under the panel increases the efficiency and production of solar panels.
- Save land for open space and agriculture.
- Reduce facility maintenance by reducing algae and/or aquatic plant growth.and
- Reduce the energy footprint and carbon footprint required to operate and maintain your facility.
President Biden's Investment Plan for America represents the largest investment in climate resilience in U.S. history and will provide much-needed resources to strengthen Western communities' resilience to drought and climate change. It is something.
The projects in California, Oregon and Utah are part of an effort to study improved water efficiency and the amount of clean energy produced for future large-scale deployment. These are funded by the Inflation Control Act, which makes $25 million available for the design, research, and implementation of projects that cover reclamation-related water conveyance facilities with solar panels.
Projects announced today include:
- San Luis and Delta Mendota Water Authority $15 million for California Delta Mendota Canal Floating Solar Power Project: The San Luis Delta-Mendota Water District, Reclamation and the University of California, Merced will collaborate through a public-private-academic partnership to assess the impact of a floating solar array on the Delta-Mendota Canal. This pilot will potentially deploy up to three floating solar PV technologies to assess the feasibility, cost, and benefits of floating solar PV technologies on canals on large transportation facilities such as the Delta-Mendota Canal. intend to do something. The initiative will also validate floating solar power designs for moving water, identify and address issues related to maintaining paneled canals, investigate power generation potential, and improve water quality. We plan to develop methods to quantify the impact.
- Oregon North Unit Irrigation District $2.55 million for Main Canal Floating Solar Power Project: The North Unit Irrigation District will construct floating solar panels on the Deschutes project's main canal. This project evaluates the impact of floating solar panels on improving water efficiency and the amount of clean energy produced.
- $1.5 million to install solar panels on Layton Canal, Weber Basin Water Conservation District, Utah: The Weber Basin Water Conservation District will cover the existing canal above the Layton Canal with solar panel structures spanning the canal. This project will serve as a five-year demonstration of data collection and monitoring to assess technical capacity, economic feasibility, and potential for full-scale implementation of both the landfill and the district. The project will improve water quality by reducing algae blooms along canals, produce renewable energy to offset pumping station usage or sell back to power companies, and significantly reduce water loss through evaporation. You are expected to do so.
Today's announcement builds on the $5.65 million announced by Arizona's Gila River Indian Community to construct and install solar panels on the Casablanca Canal.
Through the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, Reclamation will also support water infrastructure projects such as rural water, water storage, conservation and transportation, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination. It has invested $8.3 billion over five years. In his first two years of implementation, Reclamation allocated nearly $3 billion to 425 projects.
The funding also advances President Biden's Justice 40 initiative, which will see 40 percent of the overall gains from specific climate, clean energy, and other federal investments marginalized by underinvestment and disproportionately burdened by pollution. The aim is to ensure that the funds flow to underprivileged communities.
Courtesy of Ministry of the Interior.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to promote it? Want to suggest a guest for the CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest Clean Technica TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. Please see our policy here.