MERCED, Calif (KSEE/KGPE) – A project that could power and supply water to 2 million homes a year is showing tangible results - on Monday, the state's first solar-over-canal project began producing electricity, and it's thanks to research that began at UC Merced. The project was first announced in April 2024 after a 2021 UC Merced study gained traction for detailing how solar-over-canal could help conserve water, reduce air pollution, save land, and generate clean energy - all while using existing land and infrastructure. A pilot project is being built over Turlock Irrigation District (TID) canals to test the theory. On Monday, TID General Manager Brad Koehn announced that the panels on the initial phase of the project started to generate electricity - if all 4,000 miles of the state's exposed canals were covered, the study predicts it could generate 13 gigawatts of power each year, enough electricity to power about 2 million homes. In addition to generating electricity, the project also has the potential to conserve water by reducing radiative evaporation. If all canals were covered, the study estimates it would conserve 65 billion gallons a year, enough water to supply up to 2 million homes annually. The project would also create local jobs to install and maintain the systems, the later of which would come at a reduced cost. According to university officials, maintenance costs would remain low because weed and algae growth would be reduced due to the new shade provided by the panels over the canals - reduced vegetation growth would also have the added benefit of improving water quality. The university says plans are now in the works to expand the technology to other areas. ...read more read less