Electricity From Living Plants

Plants a New Way to Generate Power

Imagine being able to grow plants that also supply energy for your house? Or better yet supply energy for an entire community?
In 2007 there was an experiment done by Waginigen University. It studied plants and the use of them as a power source. With sustainable and renewable energy being a vital part of the modern science world, this idea took of by storm. Plant-e is the name of the organization based in the Netherlands.
How did this idea come to be? Well some scientists noticed that plants only use part of their energy they create to grow, the rest gets consumed by the plants microorganisms and generates unused electrons, which Plant-e converts to power (Schrama). Here is a video to help understand the process more in depth.

This is a great step towards a more sustainable world. Not only is there ability to generate power with no environmental damage but there is the ability to help the environment. This can be a way to increase the amount of vegetation and the amount of plants that are providing us with oxygen. Currently the project is being implemented in various ways. There are limits to what can be generated however the Plant-e organization is working on developing a larger more applicable system. However right now it is already being used in Netherlands for outdoor lighting, small scale WI-FI set ups, and green roofs helping to partially power and fully insulate a building (Schrama). It is amazing to think what the future will look like if this idea is embraced.


This type of power provides humans with a reason to think sustainable. Not only will it provide us with power but also make tangible the cyclical relationship between plants and humans. Our care of the plants would provide us with instant gratification, which may help restore peoples conception of the earth and how it is used. If this was implemented on a wide scale there may be a paradigm shift towards the environment. Plant-e is a way to show humans how powerful and important our earth is. Working together with the earth will provide more benefits then to strip earth of all its resources. If you would like too experiment with Plant-e yourself there is a DIY box available here.








Sources
Schrama, Nanda. "How to Generate Electricity from Living Plants". World Economic Forum; Innovation, 15 August 2015.

Plant-e. Living Plants Generate Electricity. Plant-e.com