Vatican to install solar farm on farmland in defiance of Italy ban

Pope Francis has called for the construction of a solar system on productive farmland owned by the Vatican that will help power the world’s smallest state with 100 per cent renewable energy.

In an Apostolic Letter published on 21 June, the Pope directed two Vatican officials to coordinate the development of a “agrivoltaic” solar farm – solar that coexists with agricultural farming – of an unspecified size on the land outside of Rome. 

The letter, entitled “Fratello Sole” (“Brother Sun”), was issued Motu Proprio (on the initiative of the Pope alone) and served to highlight Pope Francis’s previous commitments to combating climate change – including the 2022 decision to accede to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

In the letter, the Pope said the agrivoltaic system would be installed on a 424 hectare property in Santa Maria di Galeria, an area northeast of Rome, which also host to a Vatican radio transmission facility.

The agrivoltaic project will guarantee power supply for the power supply of the Vatican’s radio station as well as the “complete energy sustenance of the Vatican City State,” the letter said.

“We need to make a transition towards a sustainable development model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, setting the objective of climate neutrality,” the Pope wrote.

“Humanity has the technological means necessary to face this environmental transformation and its pernicious ethical, social, economic and political consequences and, among these, solar energy plays a fundamental role.”

The timing and specific nature of Pope Francis’ latest climate-focused decree is particularly interesting in light of the fact that the Italian government effectively banned the construction of solar power plants on agricultural ground in May.

At the same time, the Italian government’s draft plan for energy and climate aims to boost solar energy production by 50GW by 2030.

The move has been strongly criticised by the renewables industry, including Elettricità Futura, which represents some of the nation’s biggest developers, who argue that agriculture and photovoltaics can coexist.

According to Italia Solare, the association representing Italy’s solar sector, using just 1% of unused agricultural land could provide half of the 50GW needed for Italy to achieve its 2030 targets, with the remainder potentially sourced from rooftop installations.

Construction of an agrivoltaic project builds on the Vatican’s and Pope Francis in particular’s previous steps, including committing to decarbonise its vehicle fleet by 2030 and committing to work towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

The Vatican has also installed rooftop solar, including on the Paul VI Audience Hall – a job completed in 2008 by German renewable energy companies BayWa r.e. and SolarWorld.