Putting solar panels over irrigation ditches got its first test in rural India in 2012. It presented more than a dozen co-benefits beyond the renewable energy produced by placing panels over California’s 4,000 miles of water canals. It would also save 63 billion gallons of water each year by reducing water evaporation, enough to meet water needs of two million people. Project Nexus, a pilot collaboration between UC Merced, the Turlock Irrigation District, and solar developer Solar Aquagrid, installed solar canopies over two canals south of Modesto. The coolness under the solar panels increases their efficiency, i.e., generation, and their longevity.