Panel cooling and suspension support structures present opportunities for reductions in life cycle greenhouse gas payback periods Shading may reduce evaporation by approximately 80% but additional experiments are needed to inform design and reduce uncertainties. Water Deploying the AquaGrid on canals with 100 foot wide water surfaces could Savings reduce annual evaporation by 30 to 90 acre-feet per mile of canals. An additional savings of 23 to 79 acre-feet per mile would result from using solar energy to offset more water intensive forms of electricity production. Cost Compounding advantages of the Solar AquaGrid with tensioned cable systems Analysis have the potential for large economic advantages rights in California are administered by the State Water Resources Control Board Water Central Valley Project has long-term contracts with over 250 contractors in 29 Rights counties State Water Project delivers water to State Water Project Contractors consisting of 27 public agencies Aqueduct Most major canals are generally concrete-lined canals, with maintenance roads on each side of the canal Maintenance accessibility should be a key design consideration California water prices are projected to increase by 20% by 2050 Water and California electricity prices are projected to increase by 50% by 2050 Electricity Future research incorporating climate change and water resource models may Forecasts show larger escalations Sites considered: Devil’s Den Pumping Plant, Edmonston Pumping Plant, Pleasant Valley Pumping Plant, Dos Amigos Pumping Plant, University of California Merced campus, Rancho Seco Pumping Plant, Colusa County Water District 2B, and the Williams Wastewater Treatment Plant Site Evaluation Devil’s Den, Edmonston, and Pleasant Valley Pumping Plant scored highest in a multi-criteria site selection analysis Sites with high potential for visibility are the Williams Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dos Amigos Pumping Plant and University of California Merced campus Life cycle analysis indicates that greenhouse gas payback periods are as low as 2 years when offsetting the current California energy mix. Lower payback periods are possible for offsetting diesel-powered irrigation pumps that may be adjacent to some Solar AquaGrids. Considering an increased efficiency from panels being cooled by conveyed water, the payback period can be further reduced by 3 months. Adding a truss support structure into the life cycle analysis increases the payback period by nearly 1.5 years. Novel support structure designs (e.g. suspension structures) may be able to reduce the impact of support structures on greenhouse gas payback by up to 50%. Water Savings
Panel cooling and suspension support structures present opportunities for reductions in life cycle greenhouse gas payback periods Water Savings Shading may reduce evaporation by approximately 80% but additional experiments are needed to inform design and reduce uncertainties. Deploying the AquaGrid on canals with 100 foot wide water surfaces could reduce annual evaporation by 30 to 90 acre-feet per mile of canals. An additional savings of 23 to 79 acre-feet per mile would result from using solar energy to offset more water intensive forms of electricity production. Cost Analysis Compounding advantages of the Solar AquaGrid with tensioned cable systems have the potential for large economic advantages Water Rights rights in California are administered by the State Water Resources Control Board Central Valley Project has long-term contracts with over 250 contractors in 29 counties State Water Project delivers water to State Water Project Contractors consisting of 27 public agencies Aqueduct Most major canals are generally concrete-lined canals, with maintenance roads on each side of the canal Maintenance accessibility should be a key design consideration Water and Electricity Forecasts California water prices are projected to increase by 20% by 2050 California electricity prices are projected to increase by 50% by 2050 Future research incorporating climate change and water resource models may show larger escalations Site Evaluation Sites considered: Devil’s Den Pumping Plant, Edmonston Pumping Plant, Pleasant Valley Pumping Plant, Dos Amigos Pumping Plant, University of California Merced campus, Rancho Seco Pumping Plant, Colusa County Water District 2B, and the Williams Wastewater Treatment Plant Devil’s Den, Edmonston, and Pleasant Valley Pumping Plant scored highest in a multi-criteria site selection analysis Sites with high potential for visibility are the Williams Wastewater Treatment Plant, Dos Amigos Pumping Plant and University of California Merced campus Life cycle analysis indicates that greenhouse gas payback periods are as low as 2 years when offsetting the current California energy mix. Lower payback periods are possible for offsetting diesel-powered irrigation pumps that may be adjacent to some Solar AquaGrids. Considering an increased efficiency from panels being cooled by conveyed water, the payback period can be further reduced by 3 months. Adding a truss support structure into the life cycle analysis increases the payback period by nearly 1.5 years. Novel support structure designs (e.g. suspension structures) may be able to reduce the impact of support structures on greenhouse gas payback by up to 50%. Water Savings
UCM%20Solar%20AquaGrid%20Assessment%20Final.docx