What are you searching for?

Sign in
Expert's Opinion

Solar Panels Give Edge to Tomatoes Grown Underneath

Researchers determined limiting the solar spectrum made the tomatoes grow faster and bigger than those under direct sunlight.

Author Image

By: David Savastano

Contributing Editor
Researcher Seth Steichen inspects tomato plants in NREL’s Field Test Laboratory Building. (Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL)

Researcher Seth Steichen inspects tomato plants in NREL’s Field Test Laboratory Building. (Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL)

NREL researchers Bryon Larson and Lieve Larens pose in the Field Test Laboratory Building where a variety of plants are grown, including tomatoes. (Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL)

NREL researchers Bryon Larson and Lieve Larens pose in the Field Test Laboratory Building where a variety of plants are grown, including tomatoes. (Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL)

Unlike most experiments conducted at NREL, this project ended with a taste test. (Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL)

Unlike most experiments conducted at NREL, this project ended with a taste test. (Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL)

Wayne Hicks, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Experiments lead to a greater understanding, deeper insights, and sometimes they even bear fruit. That was certainly the case last summer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where researchers nurtured a dozen tomato plants. Tucked into a corner on the second floor of the Field Test Laboratory Building, the plants were housed in two custom greenhouses. Six were exposed to the full solar spectrum, s...

Become an Industry Insider and get FREE 24/7 access to this story and all of Ink World magazine.

Already a subscriber? Sign in

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Get the latest Ink World magazine news, insights and analysis in your Google Search and AI experiences.

Keep Up With Our Content. Subscribe To Ink World magazine Newsletters

Topics