Vatican Installs 2,400 Photovoltaic Panels

Yet another world leader has recognized the need for alternative energy. This time, the world leader is Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican has announced that a new solar energy system and says it has ambitious plan to become an alternative energy exporter in the future.

The “Nervi Hall,” where general audiences are held and concerts performed, has been covered with 2,400 photovoltaic panels to provide lighting, heat, and air conditioning. Officials are calling it the “first ecological general audience in the Vatican.” The new system will produce 300 MWh of clean energy a year for the audience hall and surrounding buildings.

German companies SolarWorld and SMA Solar Technology have invested €1.2 million that will allow the 108-acre city-state to reduce its CO2 emissions by about 225 tons and save approximately 80 tons of oil each year.

"This is a very courageous initiative," said Carlo Rubbia, winner of the 1984 Nobel Prize in physics who attended the unveiling ceremony in the Vatican.

"The sun has 100,000 times the energy produced by traditional sources of energy on earth. This why we need so much science, so much investment in research for the future," Rubbia said at the unveiling.

It doesn’t stop there. The Vatican has future plans to extend its alternative energy network to include a solar energy system on 300 hectares called Santa Maria di Galeria.

Pier Carlo Cuscianna, head of technical services for Vatican City, said such a project could produce six times the amount of energy needed to power the transmission antennas. "The rest could be transferred to the (Italian) national grid for power for surrounding communities," Cuscianna said. While the project is only in the idea phase, the Vatican has planned to install enough renewable energy sources to meet its goal of 20% of its energy needs by 2020.