
Electricity-generating solar greenhouses are outfitted with transparent roof panels embedded with magenta luminescent dye that absorbs light and transfers energy to narrow photovoltaic strips, where electricity is produced. A new study shows that this novel technology, which has the potential to take greenhouses offline, didn’t interfere with plant growth or production.
(Photo by Nick Gonzales/UC Santa Cruz)
Magenta panes also help plants save water
The first crops of tomatoes and cucumbers grown inside electricity-generating solar greenhouses were as healthy as those raised in conventional greenhouses, signaling that “smart” greenhouses hold great promise for dual-use farming and renewable electricity production.
“We have demonstrated that ‘smart greenhouses’ can capture solar energy for electricity without reducing plant growth, which is pretty exciting,” said Michael Loik, professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and lead author on a paper that appears in the current issue of the American Geophysical Union’s journal Earth’s Future.

Electricity-generating solar greenhouses utilize Wavelength-Selective Photovoltaic Systems (WSPVs), a novel technology that generates electricity more efficiently and at less cost than traditional photovoltaic systems. These greenhouses are outfitted with transparent roof panels embedded with a bright magenta luminescent dye that absorbs light and transfers energy to narrow photovoltaic strips, where electricity is produced. WSPVs absorb some of the blue and green wavelengths of light but let the rest through, allowing the plants to grow. WSPV technology was developed by coauthors Sue Carter and Glenn Alers, both professors of physics at UC Santa Cruz, who founded Soliculture in 2012 to bring the technology to market.
Loik’s team monitored photosynthesis and fruit production across 20 varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, lemons, limes, peppers, strawberries, and basil grown in magenta glasshouses at two locations on campus and one in Watsonville, California.
“Eighty percent of the plants weren’t affected, while 20 percent actually grew better under the magenta windows,” said Loik. Tomatoes and cucumbers are among the top greenhouse-produced crops worldwide, he said.
In additional experiments, small water savings were associated with tomato photosynthesis inside the magenta glasshouses. “Plants required 5 percent less water to grow the same amount as in more conventional glasshouses,” he said.
“I thought the plants would grow more slowly, because it’s darker under these pink panels. The color of the light makes it like being on the Red Planet,” said Loik. “Plants are sensitive not just to the intensity of light but also to color. But it turns out the plants grow just as well.”
Reducing the energy consumed by greenhouses has become a priority as the global use of greenhouses for food production has increased six-fold over the past 20 years to more than 9 million acres today—roughly twice the size of New Jersey, according to Loik. “It’s big and getting bigger,” he said. “Canada relies heavily on greenhouses for vegetable production, and their use is growing in China, too.” Plastic greenhouses are becoming popular for small-scale commercial farming, as well as for household food production, he added.
Greenhouses use electricity to control temperature and power fans, lights, and other monitoring systems. “This technology has the potential to take greenhouses offline,” said Loik, who specializes in climate change, plant physiology, water resources, and sustainable technologies. Cost per panel of WSPV technology is 65 cents per watt—about 40 percent less than the per-watt cost of traditional silicon-based photovoltaic cells.
“If greenhouses generate electricity on site, that reduces the need for an outside source, which helps lower greenhouse gas emissions even more,” said Loik. “We’re moving toward self-sustaining greenhouses.”
Learn more: Solar greenhouses generate electricity and grow crops at the same time, UC Santa Cruz study reveals
The Latest on: Solar greenhouses
[google_news title=”” keyword=”solar greenhouses” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
- Photovoltaic Greenhouse Market Size and Forecast till 2031on March 21, 2023 at 7:38 pm
The "Photovoltaic Greenhouse Market" study describes how the technology industry is evolving and how major and ...
- Reshoring solar panel production could help the U.S. meet its climate goalson March 21, 2023 at 6:00 am
In a life-cycle analysis of solar panel manufacturing, researchers find domestically produced panels have a smaller carbon footprint than imported ones.
- UMich solar power project would harness 25 megawatts of clean energy by 2025on March 20, 2023 at 7:13 pm
A solar power installations project would harness 25 megawatts of clean energy on the University of Michigan campuses by 2025.
- PG&E Customers' Electricity 96% Greenhouse Gas-Free in 2022on March 20, 2023 at 1:09 pm
GHG-Free Electricity Deliveries Included 49% Nuclear, 40% Eligible-Renewable Resources and 7% Hydroelectric OAKLAND, Calif., /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers received ...
- Made-in-the-USA solar panels could cut emissions by 30%, says studyon March 20, 2023 at 11:20 am
Reshoring crystalline silicon PV panel manufacturing to the United States by 2035 could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and energy consumption by 13% from 2020 levels, according to scientists from ...
- US-made solar panels could cut emissions by 30%, says studyon March 20, 2023 at 7:00 am
Reshoring crystalline silicon PV panel manufacturing to the United States by 2035 could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and energy consumption by 13% from 2020 levels, according to scientists from ...
- Sarah’s Harvest constructing passive solar greenhouseon March 19, 2023 at 8:29 am
That’s Sarah Ouellette’s plan, after she constructs the Yukon’s first commercially producing passive solar greenhouse. Ouellette is the owner and operator of Sarah’s Harvest, an organic market garden ...
- Study finds a third of land in Amherst possible for solar siteson March 16, 2023 at 12:10 pm
About one-third of Amherst’s land mass may be suitable for future solar projects, with 86% of the locations where photovoltaic installations could go currently undeveloped, according to a consultant’s ...
- The UN wants to reflect sunlight back into space in order to cool the earth — but some companies are harnessing it instead. Here are 3 high-flying solar stocks that Wall ...on March 16, 2023 at 4:00 am
Unless drastic cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are implemented immediately, global mean warming is likely to exceed the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level within the ...
- Germany meets 2022 greenhouse gas emissions targeton March 15, 2023 at 5:32 am
Germany produced 10 million tons of greenhouse gases less than expected. But, individually, the energy and transport sectors are still lagging behind.
via Google News and Bing News