ITHACA (WBNG) — Cornell University is conducting research using solar panels to grow apples in hopes of producing clean energy.
Cornell University Hudson Valley Research Laboratory Director Jared Buono said that while this is not the first time this has been done, as France has been doing this for a decade with their grapes, it has never been with an apple orchard.
Buono added that the panels can be used to help protect budding apple trees from severe weather, allowing for more crops to develop. It also allows for the control of sunlight on the crops, as the panels will be moveable.
“We’re looking at tracking panels, which were designed to be more efficient to the incident of the angle of the sun versus the sky,” Buono said. “We would track the sun if we wanted to optimize power production or when we want to keep the sun off the plants.”
Moveability is vital to the research, apples need sun to get their color and too much…
