Vatican plans solar and agriculture plant to cover its electricity needs

The Vatican will ​build a roughly €100 million ($117 million) renewable energy plant that could power the Holy See within two ‌years via a system combining solar power and agriculture, sources involved in discussions on the project said, Report informs via Reuters.

The agrivoltaic plant is expected to have a capacity of 80 to 90 megawatts, making it one of Italy's largest such installations, the sources added.

In such plants, solar panels are ​mounted several metres above the ground so crops can grow beneath them, with the shade helping to reduce ​evaporation and shielding plants from extreme weather.

A joint Italian-Vatican commission met earlier this month to ⁠launch the project at the Vatican-owned Santa Maria di Galeria estate on Rome's northwestern outskirts, after Italy ratified a 2025 ​bilateral agreement for development of the site this year.

Officials disclosed no details of the project's cost, capacity or timeline after ​the meeting.

The sources involved in the discussions said the plant could take 18 to 24 months to complete, including permitting and administrative procedures.

The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Vatican City, headquarters of the global Catholic Church and home to St. Peter's ​Basilica, is the world's smallest country, covering 108 acres and housing fewer than 900 residents.

The roughly 450-hectare Santa Maria di ​Galeria site, on Rome's northwestern outskirts, has hosted Vatican Radio's transmission facilities since the 1950s.