Project:
CUSTOMER:
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)
TECHNOLOGIES USED:
PARTNERS / COLLABORATORS:
STATUS:
Active
The federal government manages over 8,000 miles of irrigation canals that could be utilized to generate renewable energy while requiring minimal additional land development. In California alone, University of California, Merced found that deploying canal solar over the 4,000 miles of state-operated canals could generate an estimated 13 GW of power and save 63 billion gallons of water annually.
In May of 2024, Sperra was selected to receive a $650,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Silicon Solar Manufacturing, and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator initiative.
The grant will support the development of Sperra’s innovative Solar Canal foundation, a dual-use solar application designed to generate clean energy and conserve water by mounting solar panels over irrigation canals. The project scope includes design, structural finite element analysis, 3D concrete printing, and assembly of a 5-kW working prototype unit; design and planning of a full-scale pilot demonstration; techno-economic analysis; customer discovery, commercialization planning, and community engagement.
Sperra’s unique approach uses 3D concrete printing incorporating jack-up technology from the offshore energy industry to reduce the cost and complexity of canal solar installation and O&M. The foundation can be manufactured on/near-site using local materials and workforce. The jack-up mechanism reduces dependency on expensive heavy-lift cranes for installation while providing the required clearance for operations and maintenance.