Solar Panels Grow 176g Turnips While Making Clean Energy

Growing food and generating clean energy on the same land just got a major upgrade, thanks to researchers who figured out how to make crops thrive under solar panels.

Scientists at the University of Western Ontario tested 13 different types of see-through solar panels over turnip fields and discovered something remarkable. Some panels didn't just allow crops to grow, they helped turnips flourish better than expected while still producing electricity.

The winning setup used a 60% transparent thin-film solar panel that produced turnips weighing 176.5 grams each. That's substantially more food than many other configurations, all while the panels above generated clean energy for the grid.

Lead researcher Joshua Pearce and his team planted McKenzie turnips in May 2024 at the Western University Field Station in Ontario. They mounted different solar panels on stilts above the crops, including both traditional silicon panels and thin-film panels with varying levels of transparency and color filters.

The results surprised even the scientists. Light quantity alone didn't determine success. Instead, how the light reached the plants mattered most. Thin-film panels spread light evenly across crops, while traditional silicon panels created a patchwork of sun and shade.

Both patterns worked, just differently. Low-transparency silicon panels performed well by creating helpful shade patterns that reduced heat stress. Medium-transparency thin-film panels at 50 to 60% worked best by providing uniform, gentle light distribution.

The Ripple Effect spreads far beyond Canadian turnip fields. As climate change intensifies heat stress on crops worldwide, agrivoltaics offers farmers a two-in-one solution: protection for plants and income from electricity sales.

Pearce emphasized that designers should stop choosing solar panels based solely on energy output. Matching the panel type to specific crops and their light needs creates better outcomes for food production and renewable energy together.

The research opens doors for customizing solar panels to different vegetables, grains, and growing conditions. Future work will optimize panel colors, transparency levels, and mounting systems to meet the needs of diverse crops across different climates.

"Agrivoltaics simply make technical and economic sense," Pearce concluded. As warming temperatures threaten global food security, growing crops under solar panels provides a realistic path toward a sustainable food system that feeds people and powers communities.