News & Media
What is Project Nexus?
December 1, 2023
Project Nexus culminates with the installation of solar panel canopies over various sections of Turlock Irrigation District’s irrigation canals. Project Nexus will serve as a Proof of Concept to pilot and further study solar over canal design, deployment, and co-benefits on behalf of the State of California using TID land and grid access. The Project is a partnership between TID, the California’s Department of Water Resources, the University of California, Merced, and development firm Solar AquaGrid. Project Nexus will serve as a Proof of Concept to pilot and further study solar-over-canal design, deployment, and co-benefits on behalf of the State of California using TID land and energy grid access.
The primary goals of Project Nexus include:
- Demonstrate proof of concept of narrow and wide-span canal coverage of solar panels
- Increase renewable power generation
- Reduce water evaporation in canals
- Experience water quality improvements
- Reduce vegetative growth in the canals
- Investigate energy storage via use cases
- Investigate integration between renewable power generation and energy storage