The installation of floating solar panels in an irrigation canal sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but the North Unit Irrigation District, which delivers water from the Deschutes River to Jefferson County farmers, is hoping to make it a reality.

Last week the Biden administration announced it was issuing the district $2.55 million to kick-start North Unit’s floating photovoltaic solar panel project. Millions more are needed to build a network of panels and generate significant amounts of power, but the district said this funding lays the seeds for future development.

North Unit Irrigation District, a junior water rights holder in Jefferson County, is one of the more innovative districts in Central Oregon and has invested in water conservation strategies, including the piping of open ditches and a possible pumping station on Lake Billy Chinook.

If the solar project gets funded and completed, the district will generate 1 megawatt of power from the solar panels that it can sell to utility companies such as Pacific Power.

“Proceeds would go to operations or maintenance and to offset patrons’ assessment,” said Josh Bailey, general manager for North Unit.

The $2.55 million will be spent on evaluating the impact of the panels, which would float in the canal during the irrigation season and then sit on the canal bottom at other times of the year.

The funding is part of a $19 million investment from the Biden administration to install solar panels over irrigation canals in California, Oregon and Utah, the Bureau of Reclamation said in a release.

The panels serve a dual purpose of generating clean energy while reducing evaporation from open canals. Solar panels that float in canals are also more efficient than land-based panels because the water in the canals has a cooling effect, according to the bureau.

Bailey said the district could have installed solar panels over the canals but opted for the floating panels instead.

“Those (over the canal panels) do have their value. But we have earthen canals, concrete-lined canals and sections are very wide and placid so we can put in quite a bit (of panels) there,” said Bailey. “It’s also less invasive on the canal.”

The panels will be placed in different locations along the North Unit main canal near Bend and Redmond, based on canal width, said Bailey. The panels can be moved if maintenance is required on the canal. Because they are to be located in a calm and wide section of the canal, the panels are unlikely to be affected by the water’s movement.

“It’s a great project. We are looking forward to the potential,” said Bailey.

North Unit has a tentative plan to complete the installation of the panels by March 2026, said Bailey.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore, said in a statement the project achieves multiple goals by advancing clean energy projects and water conservation while also creating jobs for Oregonians.

The solar panels are planned to work in conjunction with another North Unit project to develop 1.4 megawatts of hydroelectric power from a section of the main canal that is planned to be piped. In winter, when water is not available to create hydropower, the panels will be available to produce electricity.

“There are a lot of things that need to be worked out with the power company… we are going to be going after grant funding later this summer for that (hydroelectric) project,” said Bailey. “So these floating solars can be tied into that project.”

The $2.55 million in federal funding is enough to “put some panels in” the canals, said Bailey, but around $40 million is needed for the solar and hydro projects.

“There are many moving parts and we are still very early in the project,” said Bailey. The federal funding “will help with the implementation and research of a future hydroelectric floating solar resiliency project.”