Solar farm could make Vatican the first carbon-neutral state

Italy has agreed to Vatican plans to turn a 430-hectare field north of Rome into a vast solar farm which would meet the Holy See’s energy needs.

Vatican foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher signed the agreement with Italy’s ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto.

The agreement stipulates that the development of the Santa Maria Galeria site will preserve the agricultural use of the land and minimise the environmental impact on the territory, according to a Vatican statement.

The Italian parliament must approve the arrangement since it has financial implications for the territory, which holds extraterritorial status in Italy.

Vatican officials have estimated it will cost under 100 million euros (US$114 million) to develop the solar farm, and that once it is approved by the Italian parliament, the contracts to do the work could be put up for bids.

Details weren’t released, but the Vatican will be exempt from paying Italian taxes to import the solar panels, but won’t benefit from the financial incentives that Italians enjoy when they go solar. Italy, for its part, can use the field in its accounting for reaching European Union clean energy targets. Any excess electricity generated by the farm beyond the Vatican’s needs would be given to the local community, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not public.

The Santa Maria Galeria site has long been the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers located there since the 1950s. Locals have complained of health impacts from the waves generated from the towers.  The Vatican denied there was any causal link, but cut back the transmissions as a cost-cutting measure as communication through the Internet became widespread.

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Vatican strikes solar farm deal to become the world’s first carbon-neutral state | Crux (By Nicole Winfield/Associated Press/CruxNow)