According to a new study, greenhouses can be fitted with solar-panels, which would still allow the plants inside to grow just as well as with traditional greenhouses panes.
The research was carried out by North Carolina State University and tested different types of lettuce in both traditional greenhouses and greenhouses fitted with the special solar-panels. All the other variables that could affect plant-growth were also kept the same. The study revealed that there was no difference in the ability for plants to grow between the traditional greenhouses and the greenhouses fitted with the solar-panels.
It was even found that the greenhouses fitted with the solar-panels actually regulated temperature better than the traditional greenhouses.
The special solar-panels are known as semi-transparent organic solar cells (or ST-OSCs), meaning that sunlight, while being trapped to create electricity, can also travel through the panels. This demonstrates that the wavelengths required by the plants to promote photosynthesis are not obstructed.
Brendan O'Connor, a mechanical and aerospace engineer involved in the project, said:
"Not only did we find no meaningful difference between the control group and the experimental groups, we also didn't find any significant difference between the different filter… Based on the number of people who have contacted me about solar-powered greenhouses when we've published previous work in this space, there is a lot of interest from many growers. I think that interest is only going to grow. We've seen enough proof-of-concept prototypes to know this technology is feasible in principle, we just need to see a company take the leap and begin producing to scale."
Heike Sederoff, a biologist in the project, added:
"We were a little surprised – there was no real reduction in plant growth or health. It means the idea of integrating transparent solar cells into greenhouses can be done."
This new technological approach could mean that greenhouses all over the world could soon be used to generate vast amounts of clean electricity. Greenhouses, particularly those used in industrial food production, are generally located in sunny climates and this therefore means that huge amounts of energy could be created without a huge carbon-footprint.
As electricity is not created through the burning of fossil fuels, no carbon-dioxide or other compounds are released into the atmosphere. It is the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that traps heat from the Sun and causes global warming.
[h/t: science alert]
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