As you drive through the Central Valley, it is hard to miss the iconic California Aqueduct, which moves millions of gallons of irrigation water through a large canal in the middle of the state. The canal is visible because it’s open on top — a fact that also allows a sizable percent of the water to evaporate, as the region now faces increasingly high temperatures for much of the year.
A few years ago, scientists began asking: What if we covered the canal with solar panels?
Now, that question has prompted a pilot project. In late March, the first-ever solar canal — known as Project Nexus — was connected to the grid in Turlock…