VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis appointed two special commissioners to start work on building an agrivoltaic system on a Vatican property outside of Rome that could supply the whole of Vatican
Pope Francis has renewables on his mind as he says he wants Vatican City to run on solar power. To achieve his aim, solar panels will be installed on a Vatican-owned property outside
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to install a solar plant that will provide electricity to the entire city state, as the pontiff does his bit to tackle climate change.
The Vatican is now completely powered by a farm that sports solar panels to help shade-tolerant crops thrive. This new coupling of solar and agriculture is growing fast.
With the Apostolic Letter “Fratello sole,” issued motu proprio, Pope Francis provides for the construction of an agrivoltaic plant in the extraterritorial zone of Santa Maria in Galeria, where
Agrivoltaics involves the dual use of land for solar energy production and agriculture.
Italy has agreed to a Vatican plan to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) plot of land north of Rome into a vast solar farm that will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of Vatican City.
The project aims to meet the full energy needs of both the Vatican State and Vatican Radio using solar technology integrated with agricultural activity.
The Pope said “it is necessary to transition to a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, aiming for climate neutrality.” The
Vatican officials have estimated it will cost under 100 million euros ($114 million) to develop the solar farm, and that once it is approved by the Italian parliament, the contracts to do the...
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