Vatican Gets Serious with Solar

Maybe Samsø started a trend in becoming a net exporter of renewable energy because it appears that the Vatican is thinking about doing something similar. The curvacious roof of Paul VI Audience Hall, a building that's located right by the famous St. Peter's Basilica, has been topped with 2,400 photovoltaic panels to source energy for lighting, heat, and air conditioning. The 5,000 m2 (54,000 sf) roof will produce ~300 megawatt hours of energy and cost approximately $1.6 million (donated by SolarWorld and SMA Solar Technology). With the addition of this massive solar roof, the sovereign city-state will cut CO2 emissions by about 225 tons. But that's not all:









