The world’s population is growing, and so is the demand for food production. New technologies make controlled farming more efficient, but require considerable amounts of energy.

Every hour we receive enough sunlight to provide the world with enough electricity for an entire year. What if we could tackle both our world’s energy and food problem? What if we can harvest both electricity and food within one system using the power of the sun?

We propose the world’s first self-powering smart greenhouse. It uses new solar technology; fully transparent glazed panels with integrated solar cells, powering its indoor climate to enhance plant growth.

By combining solar and high-tech farming, we can contribute to sustainably feeding the world. Power Plants creates a self-powered ecosystem, enabling farming in a variety of difficult locations. It is not only a solution for ecologically friendly and efficient land-use, but also offers farmers without infrastructure the opportunity to grow food safely and sustainably; ensuring more resilient farming.

“Power Plants” are more efficient than standard greenhouses as it is designed from simplicity and function. It uses integrated climate control and advanced hydroponics systems, saving more than 90% of the water used by traditional farming methods.

Together with our partners at the New Institute and Physee, we want to build our first Power Plant near Westland. But as the system is fully scalable and versatile we hope to build a Power Plant in South Africa within the next three years. It can be implemented worldwide on a larger scale to ensure sustainable crop production. Our proposal does not only provide a solution for our insecure food future but also facilitates the needed energy transition, creating a tangible demonstration of how we can integrate new sustainable technologies in our lives.