Vatican to build 100m solar farm

According to The Express Tribune, the Vatican will build a renewable energy plant worth roughly 100 million, or $117 million, citing sources involved in talks on the project. The agrivoltaic facility, which pairs solar panels with farming, could be operational within two years to supply the Holy See. Sources put its capacity at 80 to 90 megawatts, which would make it one of the largest installations of its kind in Italy.

Following a meeting of a joint Italian-Vatican panel earlier this month, officials gave no figures on cost, capacity or timeline. The site is the Santa Maria di Galeria estate, which the Holy See owns on the northwestern edge of Rome. A bilateral agreement dating from 2025 covers development of the land, and Italy ratified it earlier this year.

Sources said completion could take 18 to 24 months, with permitting and administrative steps included in that period. The power could also serve Holy See-linked properties, among them the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome, according to the sources. The Vatican will not claim the financial incentives that Italian homes and firms can obtain for solar installations, and any surplus electricity would go to Italy.