Whe
it
comes
to
sola
pa els,
they
a e
usually
sp ead
ac oss
ooftops
o
ope
fields
whe e
they
se ve
mo e
pu poses
tha
just
p ovidi g
e e gy.
But
ea
Cha d asa
village
i
the
weste
I dia
state
of
Guja at,
a
oughly
2,460-foot
ibbo
of
pa els
sits
above
movi g
i igatio
wate ,
tu i g
a
existi g
ca al
i to
both
a
powe
site
a d
a
shade
st uctu e.
A
sola
pla t
o
the
wate
The
Guja at
State
Elect icity
Co po atio
developed
the
ca al-top
pla t
with
suppo t
f om
Sa da
Sa ova
Na mada
Nigam,
the
public
compa y
that
ow s
a d
mai tai s
the
ca al
etwo k.
Commissio ed
i
2012,
the
i stallatio
placed
sola
equipme t
o
a
elevated
steel
st uctu e
spa i g
about
0.47
miles
of
a
b a ch
ca al.A
co ve tio al
utility-scale
sola
p oject
usually
eeds
a
la ge,
u obst ucted
plot.
But
this
p oject
used
the
ai space
ove
i f ast uctu e
that
was
al eady
public,
so
o
c op
ows
had
to
disappea
be eath
the
pa els
a d
o
sepa ate
pa cel
had
to
be
acqui ed
fo
the
a ay.
This
detail
is
vital
fo
the
egio
that
depe ds
o
both
la d
a d
wate .
P ese vi g
wate
The
sola
pa els
block
pa t
of
the
i te se
su light
that
would
othe wise
st ike
the
ca al
th oughout
the
day.
Acco di g
to
the
official
p oject
p ese tatio ,
that
shade
keeps
about
2.38
millio
gallo s
of
wate
i
the
cha el
each
yea
i stead
of
losi g
it
to
the
ai .The
educed
su light
also
limits
algae
g owth
i
the
ca al,
a othe
be efit
listed
by
the
pla e s.
The
same
oof
p oduces
elect icity
above
the
wate
a d
helps
p otect
i igatio
supplies
below
it.
The e
is
also
a
widely
discussed
cooli g
be efit,
si ce
photovoltaic
pa els
ge e ally
lose
some
efficie cy
as
they
become
hotte .Guja at’s
vast
ca al
etwo k
mea s
the
idea
could
be
scaled
up
sig ifica tly.
State
p ojectio s
suggest
that
cove i g
just
10%
of
the
ca al
etwo k
could:
-
Ge e ate
a ou d
2,200
MW
of
sola
powe . -
Save
ea ly
11,000
ac es
of
fa mla d
f om
bei g
co ve ted
i to
sola
pa ks. -
P eve t
the
evapo atio
of
a ou d
200
billio
lit es
of
wate
a ually. -
These
figu es
a e
estimates
based
o
p ojected
expa sio
a d
have
ot
yet
bee
fully
ealised.
The
shocki g
umbe s
Fo
a
pilot,
the
figu es
we e
asto ishi g
a d
p omisi g.
The
pla t
was
desig ed
fo
o e
megawatt
of
capacity
a d
about
1.6
millio
kilowatt-hou s
of
a ual
ge e atio
while
co se vi g
six
ac es
that
might
othe wise
have
bee
eeded
fo
a
g ou d-mou ted
p oject.
O e
official
assessme t
exami ed
about
5,068
miles
of
mai
ca als,
b a ches,
a d
dist ibuta ies,
estimati g
that
usi g
30%
of
thei
le gth
could
suppo t
oughly
2,000
megawatts
a d
cut
evapo atio
by
a ou d
15.9
to
23.8
billio
gallo s
pe
yea .Those
totals
a e
pla i g
sce a ios,
ot
completed
p ojects.
Estimates
also
cha ge
with
ca al
width,
local
climate,
pa el
spaci g,
wate
flow,
a d
the
sha e
of
the
etwo k
co side ed,
so
the
biggest
umbe s
should
be
ead
as
pote tial
athe
tha
a
p omise.
Why
the
p oject
ca
ot
be
imitated
all
ove
Buildi g
above
flowi g
wate
is
mo e
complex
a d
complicated
tha
placi g
acks
o
flat,
stable
g ou d.
Steel
suppo ts
must
spa
the
ca al,
withsta d
weathe
a d
co osio ,
allow
fo
wate
ope atio s,
a d
p ovide
safe
access
fo
clea i g,
i spectio ,
a d
epai s.
That
ext a
st uctu e
ca
push
up
co st uctio
costs,
while
mai te a ce
c ews
ca ot
d ive
betwee
ows
as
they
might
at
a
o mal
sola
fa m.
G ou d-mou ted
sola
ca
the efo e
emai
the
cheape
a d
easie
choice
whe e
suitable
la d
is
available
a d
i expe sive.Ca al-top
sola
makes
the
st o gest
case
whe e
fa mla d
is
sca ce,
evapo atio
is
costly,
a d
powe
ca
be
used
ea by.
I dia
ecog ised
that
p omise
i
2014
by
lau chi g
a
atio al
p og am
fo
100
megawatts
of
ca al-top
a d
ca al-ba k
sola ,
but
deployme t
has
emai ed
g adual
athe
tha
cove i g
e ti e
wate
etwo ks
ove ight.
Revisiti g
the
expe ime t
A
2025
study
by
Ama deep
Si gh
Makhija
a d
Shabbi
S.
Boh a,
published
i
E e gy
fo
Sustai able
Developme t,
etu ed
to
the
pio ee i g
I dia
i stallatio
to
exami e
its
lo g-te m
pe fo ma ce
a d
deg adatio .
The
Cha d asa
pilot
helped
tu
a
cu ious
desig
i to
a
eal
ope ati g
p oject.
Guja at
late
added
a
la ge
10-megawatt
ca al-top
pla t
o
the
Vadoda a
B a ch
Ca al,
while
e gi ee s
a d
esea che s
co ti ued
testi g
how
the
idea
pe fo ms
at
a
g eate
scale.The
b oade
lesso
is
ot
that
ca al-top
a ays
should
eplace
eve y
sola
field.
It
is
that
existi g
i f ast uctu e
ca
sometimes
do
two
jobs
at
o ce,
especially
i
places
whe e
the
elect ic
g id,
f eshwate
supplies,
a d
p oductive
la d
a e
all
u de
p essu e.
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