Self-Powered Solar Glass Greenhouse

Power Plant by London-based solar tech design studio Caventou is a concept for a greenhouse made of solar glass, harvesting both electricity and food.

Power Plant features solar-generating Smart Windows from Dutch solar design company Physee. The integration of this glass in the structure’s architecture allows the greenhouse to be self-sufficient, using the exterior solar energy to power and maintain the building’s internal climate.

Founded by Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel and London-based designer Peter Krige, the project aims to sufficiently ease the rising demand for power and food that comes with a growing human population.

Power Plant enables farmers to grow crops more securely in diverse environments and without the use of pre-existing infrastructure. The project also promises to be more efficient than a conventional greenhouse, with an integrated hydroponic system that recycles more than 90% of water used.

Power Plant was selected by international competition What Design Can Do as a winner in the Climate Action Challenge category in November 2017. The project was included in a tailored acceleration programme to help realise the first Power Plant, which is due to be constructed in Westland, The Netherlands. The designers hope to extend the project to South Africa within the next three years. 

For more on products seamlessly integrating solar technology, see Glass Building Blocks Generate Solar Energy, Van Aubel’s Cyanometer and Designing for Drought. Also, look out for our upcoming Electrified Streetscapes report, which details the evolution of solar energy.