California to cover canal with solar panels in experiment to fight drought, climate change

California is about to launch an experiment to cover aqueducts with solar panels, a plan that if scaled up might save billions of gallons of otherwise evaporated water while powering millions of homes. Project Nexus in the Turlock Irrigation District launches in mid-October amid Western North America's worst drought in 1,200 years and as human-influenced climate change exacerbates the dry spell. Based on a similar project in the west Indian state of Gujarat, the project is the first of its kind in the United States, said University of California Merced project scientist Brandi McKuin.