ALTERNATE LOCATIONS FOR SOLAR PANELS

With people objecting to solar farms near their properties alternate locations must be investigated river courses, central reservations of motorways, fast lanes of motorways, all commercial buildings, all new builds, all public buildings the list is endless. One study estimates that covering California’s canals with solar panels could generate enough energy to power Los Angeles for most of the year. Back in 2015, California’s dry earth was crunching under a fourth year of drought. Then-Governor Jerry Brown ordered an unprecedented 25 per cent reduction in home water use. Farmers, who use the most water, volunteered too to avoid deeper, mandatory cuts. Brown also set a goal for the state to get half its energy from renewable sources, with climate change bearing down. 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 6,437 kilometres of canals with solar panels that could also generate 13 gigawatts of power. That’s enough for the entire city of Los Angeles from January until early October.