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Modesto Bee
Apr. 4—Placing solar panels atop Central Valley canals could get the state halfway to its goal for climate-friendly power by 2030, a new study suggests.
And the panels could reduce enough evaporation from the canals to irrigate about 50,000 acres, the researchers said. They are from the Merced and Santa Cruz campuses of the University of California.
The idea has already drawn interest from the Turlock Irrigation District, as one of several options for boosting the solar part of its electricity supply.
But a spokeswoman for the state Department of Water Resources said the panels would interfere with maintenance of the California Aqueduct, its longest canal.