February Chapter Meeting--Covering California's Canals with Solar Panels
Tue, Feb 10
|Zoom Meeting
Join us with Solar AquaGrid to hear about progress on saving water and generating clean energy by shading our canals with solar panels!
Time & Location
Feb 10, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Zoom Meeting
About the event
Solar Canals: Producing Energy and Saving Water
What if we could generate gigawatts of clean energy from solar AND boost California's water supply by billions of gallons a year, all in one fell swoop? That's the goal of Solar Aquagrid: covering California's 4,000 miles of public water canals and aqueducts with solar installations. This solar solution could provide more than half the projected new solar capacity our state needs by 2030 to meet our decarbonization goals, while saving enough water from evaporation to meet the needs of 2 million people.
Sound too good to be true? It's already underway! The first pilot, Project Nexus in California’s Central Valley, came online in 2025 and has turned stretches of canal into hubs of clean electricity generation in a remote area where cotton, tomatoes, almonds, and hundreds of other crops are grown. This partnership project between Solar AquaGrid, Turlock Irrigation District, California's Department of Water Resources, and UC Merced will demonstrate how solar canals can generate energy and save water, as well as reduce canal maintenance costs and improve water quality. Meanwhile, the California Solar Canal Initiative will explore how and where solar canals can best be deployed around the state!
Join us for an update on progress so far and what comes next with Solar AquaGrid guest speakers Jordan Harris (co-founder and CEO) and Robin Raj (co-founder and CCO).
Register here for the Zoom link.