Solar panels on water canals seem like a no-brainer. So why aren’t they widespread?

Read the full story from the Associated Press.

The idea is simple: install solar panels over canals in sunny, water-scarce regions where they reduce evaporation and make electricity.

A study by the University of California, Merced gives a boost to the idea, estimating that 63 billion gallons of water could be saved by covering California’s 4,000 miles of canals. Researchers believe that much installed solar would also generate a significant amount of electricity.

But that’s an estimate — neither it, nor other potential benefits have been tested scientifically. That’s about to change with Project Nexus in California’s Central Valley.