University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Center of Ecology and Environmental Technology has taken the first steps in becoming self sustainable by generating solar energy and collecting rain water to operate its pair of half-acre greenhouses.
The solar energy powers the greenhouses’ fans and the collected rain water irrigates the plants in the greenhouse. Future plans call for collecting used vegetable oil from the school’s cafeteria and turning it into bio-diesel. The engineering department has plans for experiments with different plant species to generate bio-fuels.
The school was the recipient of a $27,000 grant from the National Science Foundation which funded the solar collector panels. The school has applied for another $200,000 grant from the NSF to expand the self sufficiency of the greenhouse. No word from the NSF has been received yet on that proposal.
Photo credit: Bryan Tuck/The Advocate
Hydroponics Dictionary
{ 0 comments… add one now }