this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023

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Arizona's solar-over-canal project will tackle its major drought issue (interestingengineering.com)

submitted 10 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

38 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Arizona's solar-over-canal project will tackle its major drought issue::undefined

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[–] squirrelwithnut@lemmy.world 88 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Arizona and the entire South West don't have a drought problem. They have an aridification problem. While this canal project is a good move in general and we should have been doing it years ago, there is no solving the over-population of a desert. One look at Colorado River basin and its reservoirs is enough to know there is nothing we can do to fix it.

[–] BeautifulMind@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago (2 children)

With any luck pretty soon they'll look at alfalfa farming in the desert too

[–] ieightpi@lemmy.world 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Why the fuck are humans so stupid that we decided to grow one of the thirstiest crops in the fucking desert.

[–] pdxfed@lemmy.world 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Because entrenched, and exceptionally wealthy interests. Reading about how about in CA there are tons of Colorado River fed foreign owned farms growing alfalfa to export to the middle east is the definition of capitalist success...the profit of a commodity has been made the most efficient; acquired cheaply for something otherwise impossible with international arbitrage as the medium.

Every time someone asks people in the southwest to take shorter showers show them this: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/02/24/california-water/

[–] ieightpi@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

We should probably update the dictionary so the word 'greed' is synonymous to dumb, stupid, ect. Cuz it sure seems that greedy people just have a super low IQ.

[–] PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They already do.

Also, all those new Intel wafer plants near Phoenix.

[–] Poach@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

And Samsung and TSMC and others

[–] Sludgehammer@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah... but sometimes you've gotta accept that a band-aid is all you can do. While this doesn't fix the underlying problems, if it works it'll provide more water and low carbon energy, which is better than nothing.

[–] DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

if it works it'll provide more water

Unfortunately they will just use even more then, so the "shortage" will be maintained.

[–] ours@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

The "one more lane" of water supply.

[+] PeleSpirit@lemmy.world 67 points 10 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 33 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s a really good idea

[+] PeleSpirit@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

[deleted]

[–] Cannibal_MoshpitV3@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The influx of folks moving in from more expensive big city locations plus the general shift of young people rejecting conservative views even as they age is turning the state away from its traditionally republican voting tendencies as seen in recent elections.

[–] abhibeckert@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Inflation adjusted... those canals cost $50 billion to construct and the project took decades. It would cost far more now, since getting access to the land rights would be a nightmare.

They're already not providing enough water, so if building more canals is your proposed solution then you needed to start construction 20 years ago.

Upgrading the canals can potentially double the amount of water they provide. It's far cheaper, and quicker, than building more canals.

Solar panels alone wouldn't get you to 2x efficiency but it'll help a lot, and unlike other upgrades it also provides ongoing revenue. It's an absolute no brainer to start with this and do other canal upgrades later, when every inch of the canals are already covered in panels.

[–] Lemmygizer@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Or...hear me out... People don't live in the damn desert and expect to have unlimited access to water.

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Nobpdies expecting unlimited water access besides stupid farmers and stupid rich people. Phoenix for example has rather strict laws on population expansion because of this if memory serves me right. But the dumbfucks growing fucking alfalfa use our rather esoteric and outdated water laws, atleast here in California. Even rice would be better since the fields can serve triple as water foul refuge and fish spawning pools.

[–] PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I said that was California that painted their lawns. I lived in Arizona for a couple years, and I don't even remember seeing lawns. But I lived in Tucson. Almost everyone had a xeriscaped yard.

[–] Hugin@lemmy.world 18 points 10 months ago

It's also a win win design. Shade from the panels reduces evaporation in the canals and the water helps cool the panels which improves their efficiency.

[–] Lophostemon@aussie.zone 46 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I really hope this works. Also: banning water-intensive farming in dumb places might help.

[–] Diplomjodler@feddit.de 16 points 10 months ago

It would definitely help because that is the main problem.

[–] badbytes@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Or we could put effort towards limitations of fossil fuels and fix it long term. Maybe both, but if we don't do former, only duct tape.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 20 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Luckily this does both, to some extent. It's not as far as we need, but solar offsets dirty energy usage.

[–] PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Doesn't Arizona get most of its energy from the giant nuclear power plant near Phoenix?

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 7 points 10 months ago

Well they're part of a larger grid. Any clean energy on the grid will be cheaper than dirty, so will be sold to offset dirty even if Arizona was 100% clean.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don't understand how it "offsets". If someone pisses in the pool and I do it behind a tree, that somehow gets rid of piss molecules in the pool?

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 10 months ago

You only need a certain amount of power. (In fact, you can't generate more power than is needed, or you cause massive issues.) If this adds extra energy generation but doesn't add demand, generation somewhere else will be taken offline. This will be whatever is cheapest, and green energy is nearly free after construction, so it'll be dirty energy that isn't running anymore.

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[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Water Knife here we come

[–] Unforeseen@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

Good book :)

[–] rustyriffs@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Synopsys?

[–] seaQueue@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Water scarcity causes societal collapse throughout the American Southwest. Well written book, interesting premise - just an all around enjoyable bit of fiction.

[–] rustyriffs@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out!

anyone that's interested:

the water knife

[–] SaintWacko@midwest.social 1 points 10 months ago

I just finished reading that. Agree with all of that

[–] DerKriegs@lemmy.ml 2 points 10 months ago

YES! Such a good read!

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They should try this at those retaining ponds where they filled them with black balls.

[–] greybeard@lemmy.one 7 points 10 months ago

There are several companies working on solar covers for reservoirs. I agree, seems like a win win. Reduce evaporation and have a large, level, "field" for solar arrays.