By Abbas Nazil
The Vatican is advancing plans to construct an $117 million agrivoltaic solar power plant designed to make Vatican City fully self-sufficient in its energy consumption.
According to report details from Reuters, the proposed facility will have a capacity of 80 to 90 megawatts, positioning it as one of the largest installations of its kind in Italy.
The project utilizes an agrivoltaic configuration where solar tracking panels are elevated several meters above the ground, allowing crops to grow beneath the structure.
This elevated dual-use design helps mitigate water evaporation and shields underlying agricultural plants from severe weather conditions.
The tracking solar array is projected to cover roughly 200 hectares, encompassing nearly half of the Holy See’s Santa Maria di Galeria site.
Engineers estimate a construction timeline of 18 to 24 months to complete the installation and integrate it into the local energy infrastructure.
Once operational, the solar plant will supply power directly to Vatican Radio’s primary transmission station and generate electricity for other Holy See properties, including Rome’s Bambino Gesù hospital.
Any surplus electricity generated beyond the Vatican’s operational needs will be fed back into the Italian national power grid.
The initiative expands on environmental commitments originally emphasized by the late Pope Francis and subsequently endorsed by Pope Leo XIV to promote clean energy adoption.
By transitioning its primary grid operations to renewable infrastructure, the Holy See aims to eliminate reliance on external fossil fuel power generation.
