Solar greenhouses - power generators and providers of fresh vegetables
Over the last two decades the area of greenhouse farms in a world scale has increased six-fold to 3.6 million hectares. And, now agrarians reflect on how to reduce energy consumption and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
This question has been answered by the successful experiment, held by scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz. They managed to get the first harvest of vegetables and fruits grown in greenhouses, which, simultaneously with direct purpose, also serve as a solar mini-power plant. And it turned out, this crop has good quality like the same products, received from usual greenhouses.
In the construction of such pilot greeneries, a unique technology was used - Wavelength-Selective Photovoltaic Systems, which generate electricity more efficiently than traditional analogs.
The researchers covered the roofs of the greenhouses with a purple fluorescent dye that absorbs blue and green light waves and transfers energy to narrow photovoltaic stripes that generate electricity. The rest of the light spectrum penetrate the facility.
The generated electricity can be used for temperature control, power supply of fans, heating and monitoring systems.
Professor of environmental studies, Michael Loik, lead author of the study, and his team controlled photosynthesis in 20 varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, lemons, pepper, strawberries and basil - the first inhabitants of magenta greenhouses. As is known, plants react not only to the intensity of light, but also to its color. Nevertheless, with saturated red light, the vegetables felt fine, grew and fruited in due time.
In addition to savings in terms of energy supply, small water saving has been discovered. The Tomatoes consumed 5% less water than in conventional artificial cultivation practice.
In the opinion of the researches, the solar greenhouses have fully proved their effectiveness and have potential in the future to be widely used in small agricultural farms and in households for the self-provision of greens.
