The Impact of Semi-Transparent Solar Panels on Tomato and Broccoli Growth

The emergence of semi-transparent solar panels offers opportunities for their application in greenhouses where the radiation is a critical issue. The light passing through these panels is often affected, leading to a decrease in certain wavelengths that could potentially impact plant growth and quality. To address this concern, this study is performed to investigate the growth and yield of tomato and broccoli plants cultivated under semi-transparent photovoltaic solar panels compared to those grown under conventional greenhouse plastic. Their physiological and metabolic changes are also examined. A decrease in the yellow/green spectrum after installation of the solar panels is observed. In both plants, slight alterations are observed by solar panels, enhancing even the height of plants and fruit yield in case of tomato. However, both plants showed changes related to their photosynthetic activity and some metabolite concentration. Specifically, there are significant reductions in An (photosynthetic rate) and lower levels of trigonelline in plants grown under solar panels. These reductions may be attributed to the different radiation conditions experienced by the plants, which do not appear to directly impact plant growth. The obtained results highlight the promising potential of solar panel-integrated greenhouses that optimize economic and energy benefits while maintaining product quality. In this work, the potential changes in growth and yield of tomato and broccoli plants cultivated under transparent photovoltaic solar panels are investigated compared to those grown under conventional polycarbonate greenhouse. The results show slight alterations in growth by solar panels, enhancing even the height of plants and fruit yield in case of tomato. Mainly, reductions in An (photosynthetic rate) and the levels of trigonelline in plants grown are related to the different radiation conditions experienced by the plants. The results highlight the promising potential of solar panel-integrated greenhouses.image (c) 2024 WILEY-VCH GmbH