Here in the south, where the summer sun blazes and bakes man and beast and flowering field, growers often cover their youngest and most delicate plants with shade cloth.
A couple of weeks ago, driving to the Outer Banks, I saw a field full of shaded frame structures, under which appeared to be growing row upon row of young flowers. The shaded frames stretched off into the distance, and it occurred to me that if the cloth protecting those plants was photovoltaic, it could allow enough light through to promote photosynthesis (commercial shade cloth comes different grades, by percent of sun it passes) while generating some moderate amount of electricity. It might produce an appreciable amount by virtue of providing so much surface area.
I found a couple of web pages and recent articles that documented progress in developing photovoltaic cloth. Whether it can be made cost-effective, efficient enough to be worthwhile, and durable enough to withstand years of wind and sun and rain, remains to be seen. But if it could be made cheaply enough, farmers in hot spots around the world could benefit from it. I don’t know if it would generate enough electricity to sell, or just enough to run some of the farmers’ own devices, but in either case it seems like a beneficial arrangement.
If I had money to invest, I might invest in that kind of research.
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Image: “Corolla Sunrise,” by jvader33, licensed under Creative Commons, from Flickr
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