Vatican Builds $117M, 90MW Solar Power Hub
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The Vatican is advancing plans to establish a €100 million ($117 million) agrivoltaic energy installation designed to achieve complete operational energy self-sufficiency.
Located on a 450-hectare extraterritorial property in Santa Maria di Galeria, northwest of Rome, the facility will combine large-scale solar power generation with active agricultural farming. With an expected capacity of 80 to 90 megawatts (MW), the project will rank among the largest dual-use solar and agriculture installations in Italy once completed.
The Santa Maria di Galeria installation will deploy elevated solar photovoltaic racks mounted above the ground. This structural height allows heavy agricultural machinery to cultivate crops directly beneath the arrays. Beyond land efficiency, the solar panels create a microclimate that offers ambient shade, mitigating soil moisture evaporation during peak heat waves and protecting crops from severe localized weather. The dual-use setup maintains existing agricultural yields—focusing primarily on low-profile forage crops, wheat, and indigenous vegetation—while simultaneously outputting utility-scale clean electricity.
The generated 80–90 MW will first fulfil the baseline energy demand of Vatican Radio’s global broadcasting apparatus. The surplus power will be routed through dedicated high-voltage transmission lines across municipal Rome to meet the total power requirements of Vatican City itself, alongside affiliated Holy See institutions, including the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital. Integrated BESS will capture daytime generation spikes to ensure uninterrupted power delivery through the night. Excess electricity generated during peak production cycles will be fed directly into Italy’s national energy grid, turning the Holy See into a net exporter of clean power.
Source: Wikipedia