Chloroplasts - the solar panels of the plant cell

We have known for many years that plants get their energy from the sun. But turning sunlight into usable energy requires some special hardware, and this is where chloroplasts come in. Chloroplasts are microscopic structures present in most plant cells. In fact, they are present in such high numbers that you can see them without a microscope as the green color of plants. The chloroplasts green color is due to the presence of a green pigment called chlorophyll, which absorbs both red and blue lightwaves from the sun and reflects green light giving the pigment its green color. The red and blue sunlight (energy) absorbed by the molecule is then able to drive photosynthesis which happens in the chloroplasts.