Let there be sunlight: the Vatican plans a solar and agricultural plant to cover its electrical needs
Italy and Vatican launch project to develop Vatican-owned property near Rome under bilateral agreement until 2025
Vatican Radio antennas stand in a field where the Vatican plans to build an agrivoltaic plant that could meet all its electrical needs with renewable energy, in Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy, August 21, 2026. REUTERS
The Vatican will build a roughly 100 million euro ($117 million) renewable energy plant that could power the Holy See in two years through a system that combines solar energy and agriculture, sources involved in discussions about the project said.
The agrivoltaic plant is expected to have a capacity of 80 to 90 megawatts, making it one of the largest such facilities in Italy, the sources added. In these plants, the solar panels are mounted several meters above the ground so that crops can grow beneath them, and the shade helps reduce evaporation and protects the plants from extreme weather conditions.
A joint Italian-Vatican commission met earlier this month to launch the project on the Vatican-owned Santa Maria di Galeria estate on the northwestern outskirts of Rome, after Italy ratified a bilateral agreement by 2025 for the development of the site this year.
Officials did not disclose details about the project’s cost, capacity or schedule after the meeting. 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 smallest country in the world, covering 108 acres and home to fewer than 900 residents.
The approximately 450 hectare site of Santa Maria di Galeria, on the northwestern outskirts of Rome, has been home to Vatican Radio’s broadcast facilities since the 1950s.
Excess electricity would be supplied to Italy
The plant is designed to supply power to Vatican Radio’s broadcast station and help make Vatican City State fully energy self-sufficient.
Sources said the energy could also be used by properties linked to the Holy See, including Rome’s Bambino Gesù hospital.
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The Vatican will not benefit from the financial incentives available to Italian homes and businesses that install solar energy. Any surplus electricity would be made available to Italy.
Monitoring of the solar panels would cover about 200 hectares, almost half of the Santa Maria di Galeria site, one of the two sources said.
The project was a priority for the late Pope Francis, the first pontiff to accept the scientific consensus on climate change, and has been endorsed by Pope Leo XIV.
The bilateral agreement between Italy and Vatican City has extended to the agrivoltaic project the special status already granted to Vatican Radio facilities, including exemptions from Italian taxes and public charges.
Italy’s ratification law states that implementation of the agreement must not result in any new or additional burden on public finances.
Contracts for the work will be put out to tender in the coming weeks.
In 2008, under the German-born Pope Benedict XVI, German companies SolarWorld and SMA Solar Technology donated the 2,400 photovoltaic panels and equipment installed on top of the Nervi Hall, which hosts papal audiences and concerts.
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