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Solar Panels And Water Canals Could Form A Real Power Couple In California
This new study presents an analysis from researchers at the University of California Merced and University of California Santa Cruz that quantifies the economic feasibility of building a “solar canal” system in the state
MARCH 25, 2021
SOLAR AQUA GRID LLC
Solar canals save water, create energy, and protect natural lands all at the same time.
California has around 4,000 miles of canals that shuttle clean water throughout the state. New research shows that these canals can do way more than bringing California’s residents with drinking water—paired with solar panels, these canals might also be a way to both generate solar power and save water.
This new study presents an analysis from researchers at the University of California Merced and University of California Santa Cruz that quantifies the economic feasibility of building a “solar canal” system in the state.
California’s water system is one of the largest in the world and brings critical water resources to over 27 million people. Brandi McKuin, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Santa Cruz and lead author of the study, found that that shading the canals would lead to a reduction in evaporation of water, kind of like keeping your glass of water under the shade instead of out in the open on a hot summer day prevents evaporation from stealing sips. Putting up a solar panel using trusses or suspension cables to act as a canal’s umbrella is what makes the double-whammy of a solar canal.
“We could save upwards of 63 billion gallons of water annually,” she says. “That would be comparable to the amount needed to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland, or meet the residential water needs of over 2 million people.” Water is of especially critical importance to California, a state regularly stricken with drought.
So why don’t we cover up our water canals already? Micheal Kiparsky, the director of the Wheeler Water Institute at the UC Berkeley School of Law who was not involved in the study, says while the water savings from solar canals may sound really great, they are modest when considering the scale of the project. “Water might not be enough of a motivator to tip the scales to do this for the whole state,” he says.
[Related: At New York City’s biggest power plant, a switch to clean energy will help a neighborhood breathe easier.]
Beyond just cooling down canals, those solar panels can pick up loads of energy from being out in the open sunlight. While the analysis didn’t measure how much capacity these solar panels would have, McKuin estimates through a “back of the envelope” calculation it would be about 13 gigawatts, or “half the projected new capacity needed by 2030 to meet the state’s decarbonization goals.” With that kind of electricity, there is a possibility that diesel-powered irrigation pumps, which do a number on air quality, could be replaced.
Kiparsky finds the idea of tying electricity generation with the water system that uses a vast amount of electricity intriguing. “I like the idea of making things internally renewable,” he says.
Aquatic weeds also plague canals and can bring water flow to a standstill, but the researchers found that by adding shade and decreasing the plant’s sunshine slashes the amount of weed growth. McKuin says preventing weed growth would also lighten the load for sometimes costly mechanical and chemical waterway maintenance.
[Related: 4 sustainability experts on how they’d spend Elon Musk’s $100 million climate commitment.]
While this study is a “modeling exercise” to show the potential of this idea, McKuin hopes this analysis will inspire utilities, as well as state and federal agencies, to test it out on the real waterways. So far, the only test cases of suspended solar panels are in India. In the city of Gujarat, a “canal-top” solar power plant cost over $18 million in 2015 but has saved 16 hectares of land and trillions of gallons of water. In other locations, where flowing water is not critical, floating solar panels have been installed on reservoirs and lakes around the world in places such as Japan and Indonesia.
Placing solar panels above existing canals can also spare untouched natural land that is frequently slated for sometimes expensive or environmentally destructive solar panel installations. “I think one of the important parts of this story is that in California we have this mandate to produce renewable energy at scale, but we also have to be careful about taking large parcels of land,” McKuin says. “By being creative about where we put solar panels we can maybe avoid some of these trade-offs.”
Tags: CLIMATE ENERGY RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLAR PANELS SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE ENVIRONMENT
Biological Innovation Is Key To The Economic & Environmental Sustainability of CEA
As the global population rapidly urbanizes, we need to move our agricultural production to within urban and peri-urban areas
January 6, 2021
Editor’s note: Leonard Lerer is founder and CEO at Back of the Yards Algae Sciences (BYAS), a Chicago, US-based biotech company developing sustainable novel ingredients derived from algae.
BYAS is a graduate of the GROW Impact Accelerator, which is affiliated with AFN’s parent company AgFunder.
As the global population rapidly urbanizes, we need to move our agricultural production to within urban and peri-urban areas. The environmental and social costs of large-scale, industrial farming are huge, and include the fallout from widespread pesticide and chemical use, the depletion of land resources, and the progressive depopulation of rural areas.
In regions where land is at a premium or climatic conditions are not favorable for outdoor farming, the only alternative is the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) ‘plant factory’ – whether an indoor, vertical, or greenhouse-based facility.
The advantage of CEA is clear: safer, standardized, pesticide-free produce with short delivery ‘circuits’ that are less polluting.
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The flipside is that the jury is still out as to whether indoor or vertically farmed produce can be considered especially sustainable given lighting energy costs in particular. If these energy input costs could be reduced, then the door opens to using vertical farming as a production system for food staples such as wheat, corn, and soy.
The current energy use reduction effort in CEA is largely focused on improving lighting technology with the goal of greater energy efficiency and ‘tuning’ light frequencies to the photosynthetic needs of plants. But perhaps there are other approaches to support the transition of indoor and vertical farming into an incontrovertible part of the urban food chain?
Recently published research from BYAS offers the exciting prospect of moving vertical farming past the economic and environmental sustainability barrier. This is the opportunity to transform indoor and vertical farming from simply a source of leafy greens, vegetables, and small fruits into a real, long-term pillar of urban food security.
At the heart of this promising approach is the application of an algae-based biostimulant to significantly reduce growing time, thereby saving energy and increasing profitability. After more than two years of intensive research, BYAS has developed a proprietary microalgae extract that shortens the time between planting and harvesting in leafy greens and vegetables. This phycocyanin-rich spirulina extract (PRSE) is part of the BYAS portfolio of alternative proteins, including food colorants and plant-based meat ingredients.
Published research shows that PRSE is effective as a biostimulant in hydroponics, improving growth, yield, and quality of lettuce while cutting maturation time by six days (about 21%.) PRSE-treated lettuce showed a 12.5% increase in yield, a 22% increase in photosynthetic efficiency, a mean increase of 2.6 cm in leaf length and 2.2cm in basal stem diameter. In a shelf-life test, wilting was seen two to three days after it was observed in control groups. The treated groups were a brighter green (specifically 17% brighter and 75% greener) and better tasting. They had firmer texture, stronger aroma, and more intense flavor than the untreated group, according to an independent certification agency.
Using high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, the BYAS team also examined nutrient content showing that PRSE-treated lettuce had 30% more of the flavonoid, quercetin.
Natural biostimulants offer vertical farmers a new avenue for reducing energy inputs, while the improvement in product quality will assist in improving profitability by ensuring better selling prices. The most exciting aspect of developing natural biostimulants specifically for vertical farming is the possibility to extend the indoor farming sector into row crops as food staples, ensuring not only better and more secure food supplies for urban populations, but also protecting the planet.
agfunder, algae, asia, Europe, Frankly Speaking, grow, microalgae, United States, vertical farming
Kuwait JV Opens Large-Scale Indoor Vertical Farm
&Ever Middle East, a joint venture between Kuwait’s NOX Management and German company &ever, in partnership with German engineering companies SAP and Viessmann, has opened the first commercial indoor vertical farm in the Middle East
August 16, 2020
&Ever Middle East, a joint venture between Kuwait’s NOX Management and German company &ever, in partnership with German engineering companies SAP and Viessmann, has opened the first commercial indoor vertical farm in the Middle East.
Kuwait, a country that previously relied on European and overseas imports for most of their leafy greens and herbs, can now locally grow up to 250 varieties of greens and herbs using dryponics technology.
The facility, with approximately 3,000 sq m growing (or farming) space, has a daily output capacity of up to 550 kg of salad, and herbs. The products are available in all leading retailers and co-operatives under the brand name &ever Kuwait.
The farm produces high-quality and sustainable crops indoors, which increase the nutritional quality and decrease environmental impact. The cutting-edge vertical farming method uses 90 percent less water compared to traditional farming, 60 percent less fertilizer, and zero pesticides. Using a sustainable “farm to fork” model, the technology is able to preserve the plants’ nutritional value until the produce reaches the customer, said the statement.
“Previously, Kuwait’s restaurants imported all of our greens and herbs, mainly from Europe,” said Faisal AlMeshal, Director of Strategy and Business Development, NOX Management. “Our JV with &ever and the partnership with SAP and Viessmann on this indoor farm is enabling the local farming supply chain to save on costs and logistics, to minimize waste, and to make a better choice for the planet. Our customers have enhanced experiences with tastier and fresher produce.”
This knowledge exchange complements Germany and Kuwait’s trade ties. Bilateral trade is €1.3 billion, and Germany’s private sector invests €14.6 billion in Kuwait, according to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.
Germany and Kuwait are strong partners not only in politics but also in business, said Stefan Möbs, German Ambassador to Kuwait, who recently participated in a virtual media roundtable about the farm’s success hosted by the German Business Council Kuwait.
“I welcome the innovative business idea of German company &ever specifically here in Kuwait. Both countries are seeking new ways in difficult times. Even better to work together!”
Climatized rooms
The farm has partnered with Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions to develop highly efficient climatized rooms which are used in its indoor vertical farm. The technology is 40% more energy-efficient than other indoor vertical farming systems when it comes to energy use for climatization, said the statement.
&ever built its operating system, &ever Cloud, using the SAP Business Technology Platform -- SAP HANA in-memory platform and SAP Cloud Platform. Farmers can monitor, analyze, and adjust hundreds of data points on plant health, airflow, light, carbon dioxide levels, humidity, and temperature in real-time.
“Technology is the foundation for transforming customer experiences in restaurants and agricultural production in Kuwait, and for fostering diversified economic growth and sustainable agriculture worldwide,” said Andy Froemmel, Managing Director, SAP Kuwait. “Digitally transforming Kuwait’s agricultural sector supports New Kuwait 2035 goals, and helps to foster the local innovation economy and job creation.”
&ever is ready for global roll-out
Building on the global deployment capabilities of its key partners, &ever will scale its operations quickly and globally. “Our vision is to bring better tasting greens with high nutritional value to more and more people,” says Mark Korzilius, Founder of &ever. “We have an interesting pipeline of opportunities around the globe,” adds Dr Henner Schwarz, CEO of &ever. “We hope to be able to travel internationally again soon to get our next farms live as quickly as possible.”
The German Business Council Kuwait is a non-profit organization and business platform, founded in 2005, in order to promote and cultivate relations between German-speaking individuals and companies with their counterparts from the host country and the region. - TradeArabia News Service