气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels

CCPortal

DOI	10.1038/s41893-021-00693-8
	Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels
	McKuin B.; Zumkehr A.; Ta J.; Bales R.; Viers J.H.; Pathak T.; Campbell J.E.
发表日期	2021
ISSN	2398-9629
起始页码	609
结束页码	617
卷号	4 期号:7
英文摘要	Solar power development over canals is an emerging response to the energy–water–food nexus that can result in multiple benefits for water and energy infrastructure. Case studies of over-canal solar photovoltaic arrays have demonstrated enhanced photovoltaic performance due to the cooler microclimate next to the canal. In addition, shade from the photovoltaic panels has been shown to mitigate evaporation and potentially mitigate aquatic weed growth. However, the evaporation savings and financial co-benefits have not been quantified across major canal systems. Here we use regional hydrologic and techno-economic simulations of solar photovoltaic panels covering California’s 6,350 km canal network, which is the world’s largest conveyance system and covers a wide range of climates, insolation rates and water costs. We find that over-canal solar could reduce annual evaporation by an average of 39 ± 12 thousand m3 per km of canal. Furthermore, the financial benefits from shading the canals outweigh the added costs of the cable-support structures required to span the canals. The net present value of over-canal solar exceeds conventional overground solar by 20–50%, challenging the convention of leaving canals uncovered and calling into question our understanding of the most economic locations for solar power. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited part of Springer Nature.
语种	英语
scopus关键词	Costs; Evaporation; Hydraulic structures; Photovoltaic cells; Conveyance systems; Financial benefits; Photovoltaic panels; Photovoltaic performance; Solar photovoltaic panels; Solar photovoltaics; Support structures; Water and energies; Canals
来源期刊	Nature Sustainability
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/249774
作者单位	Sierra Nevada Research Institute, University of California, Merced, CA, United States; Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	McKuin B.,Zumkehr A.,Ta J.,et al. Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels[J],2021,4(7).
APA	McKuin B..,Zumkehr A..,Ta J..,Bales R..,Viers J.H..,...&Campbell J.E..(2021).Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels.Nature Sustainability,4(7).
MLA	McKuin B.,et al."Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels".Nature Sustainability 4.7(2021).