First Plant-e system moved

First Plant-e system moved

"Electricity from plants"

Plant-e: generating electricity from living plants

Setup

In November, the Central Government Real Estate Agency transferred ownership of the Plant-e set-up to the Municipality of Almere, which is now responsible for this working installation. This Plant-e set-up was initially realized on the Hembrug site in Zaanstad, but a new location was being sought due to the sale of this site. The Municipality of Almere has made a piece of roof garden, on the town hall, available for the installation of this setup. This innovative and sustainable solution for generating electricity fits well in the context of the Almere 2.0 area development; a ROP project (Regional Development Program) in which the Central Government Real Estate Agency cooperates intensively with the municipality of Almere and other regional partners on innovative, future-oriented housing and social goals such as sustainability, climate adaptation, employment and social cohesion.

The Plant-e system is a set-up of living plants that generate electricity and, with it, light up lights. The Green Technologies program of the Central Government Real Estate Agency investigates and tests innovative technologies that contribute to energy saving and CO2 reduction. The arrangement also offers a nice view of a green garden for the students of the Hogeschool across the street in Almere.

Benefits of Plant-e

- Plants consume more CO2 than they emit, so that the power generated by the Plant-e technology is CO2 negative (= reduction of CO2 emissions). It should be noted that it has a relatively small energy output, but the fact that energy can be generated from plants is very innovative. In developing countries, where these plants are located in a peripheral place, you can still generate a little electricity this way. This can be enough to operate watering systems, for example.

– Plant-e technology can be used wherever plants are in a wet environment, so it adds value to the landscape, does not decay and has no negative effect on the environment where they are located

- Plant-e technology makes it possible to use a space multiple times: Nature is preserved and edible plants can grow, while electricity is generated

- in addition to a green energy cycle and negative CO2 flow, the Plant-e technology slows down methane emissions in, for example, rice fields

Sustainable, innovative and green

With the development of this innovative product, the Plant-e company has come up with a particularly sustainable and high-tech solution for generating electricity. For example, the Plant-e technology can now be found in dozens of places in the Netherlands, where plants provide electricity to power LED lights. Queen Máxima also paid a working visit to Plant-e in 2017, where she was impressed by the various products that you can develop with the Plant-e technology.