Project Nexus has switched on in California’s Central Valley, spanning irrigation canals with 1.6 MW of solar. The real question now: can utilities prove — and monetize — the water they save?
Near Hickman, outside Modesto, a steel lattice now vaults a 110-foot-wide irrigation canal. Photovoltaic panels throw a hard shadow across the water; below, pumps and gates thrum on the Turlock Irrigation District’s (TID) network. Project Nexus — a $20 million state-funded pilot — finished its wide-span installation at the end of August after energising a narrower, 20-foot-wide section in March. Together they deliver a modest 1.6 MW to TID’s grid,
