Arizona is building massive solar canopies over irrigation canals, combining renewable energy generation with water conservation in one smart infrastructure move—perfect for dry, sun-rich regions. • Solar panels installed above canals reduce water evaporation by shading the flowing water • The system can save billions of liters of water annually in arid climates • Panels generate clean solar electricity without using additional land • Cooling from the water below improves panel efficiency, boost

336K views · 29 reactions | Researchers at MIT have come up with a way to clean solar panels without using any water. It's estimated that washing solar panels requires about 10 billion gallons per year. But leaving panels dusty or dirty means their efficacy is significantly reduced. The MIT-proposed method uses electrostatic repulsion, where an electrode that glides above panel electrically charges dust particles and subsequently repels them. | Mashable | Facebook