Balancing crop production and energy harvesting in organic solar-powered greenhouses

Adding semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) to a greenhouse structure enables simultaneous plant cultivation and electricity generation, thereby reducing the greenhouse energy demand. However, there is a need to establish the impact of such systems on plant growth and indoor climate and to optimize system tradeoffs. In this work, we consider plant growth under OSCs and system-relevant design. We evaluate the growth of red leaf lettuce under ST-OSC filters and compare the impact of three different OSC active layers that have unique transmittance. We find no significant differences in the fresh weight and chlorophyll content of the lettuce grown under these OSC filters. In addition, OSCs provide an opportunity for further light and thermal management of the greenhouse through device design and optical coatings. The OSCs can thus affect plant growth, power generation, and thermal load of the greenhouse, and this design trade space is reviewed and exemplified. [Display omitted] Lettuce grown under semitransparent organic solar cells show no drop in yieldNutrient content of lettuce grown under ST-OSCs remain unchanged to controlSeveral OSCs with unique spectral transmittance result in similar lettuce yieldAdding DBRs to OSCs can increase power generation and improve thermal management Adding semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) to greenhouses can reduce their energy footprint but may also affect plant growth. Ravishankar et al. demonstrate the negligible impact on lettuce grown under ST-OSCs. Furthermore, the trade-offs between solar power, plant growth, and climate control are considered. They show that active layer and electrode selection, along with the use of dielectric Bragg reflectors, provide broad spectral management to fully use the solar spectrum to optimize OSC-integrated greenhouses.