Solar panels will cut water loss from canals in Gila River Indian Community

By BRITTANY PETERSON
Associated Press

In a move that may soon be replicated elsewhere, the Gila River Indian Community recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to put solar panels over a stretch of irrigation canal on their land south of Phoenix. It will be the first project of its kind in the United States to actually break ground, according to the tribe’s press release. The governor of the tribe called the development a historic moment for the community, the region and Indian Country. Solar panels on irrigation canals are viewed as a climate solution with much potential, that so far is unrealized.