Tomatoes under power The world's largest solar system in a greenhouse is located in Aargau
A solar system produces renewable energy in a tomato greenhouse in Rütihof AG. According to the operators, it is the world's largest in a greenhouse.
05.06.2025, 21:12
SDA
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- A showcase greenhouse for tomatoes in Rütihof AG demonstrates how agriculture and energy production can be sensibly combined.
- Colored reflectors guide the light waves to the solar panels on the ceiling that are not needed by the plants for photosynthesis - i.e. green light or light in the infrared range.
- The plant resembles an art installation made up of many colorful flags.
Who would have thought it: the world's largest solar installation in a greenhouse is located in Rütihof AG. The agrivoltaic system consists of 1736 solar panels with an area equivalent to 17 detached houses, as representatives of the canton of Aargau, the producer Meier Gemüse and the Swiss start-up Voltiris explained to the media in Rütihof AG on Thursday. The panels supply around 234 kilowatts of electricity.
The solar system in the tomato greenhouse uses filter technology. Light waves are filtered out and redirected to the solar panels suspended from the ceiling. The plants only need red and blue light for photosynthesis. They do not need green light or light in the infrared range to grow.
The concave arrangement of the filters concentrates the light in a targeted manner and this hits the photovoltaic panels with four times the intensity. As a result, the energy yield is significantly higher than with normal sunlight. And the Hors-sol tomatoes still turn red. There is no loss of yield, they say.
Canton supports flagship project
The canton of Aargau supported the showcase project with CHF 50,000 as part of its solar offensive. Agriculture and energy production could be sensibly combined, said Cantonal Councillor Markus Dieth.
Dominik Blaser, co-founder of Voltiris, headquartered in Lausanne, spoke of a "dawn of a new future for greenhouse operators". He said that 700 modules had already been installed in a further twelve greenhouse projects, including in the Basel region.
Meier Gemüse AG in Rütihof in the Reuss Valley in the canton of Aargau was founded in 1948 as a family business and employs up to 50 people during the harvest season. According to the company, 1.5 million kilograms of tomatoes and one million cucumbers are produced each year.
