Vatican to Build €100 Million Agrivoltaic Power Plant on Rome Outskirts

On August 22, sources involved in the Vatican-Italian commission disclosed that the Holy See will construct a renewable-energy facility on the 450-hectare Santa Maria di Galeria estate, northwest of Rome. The agrivoltaic plant is projected to cost roughly €100 million (about $117 million) and to generate 80–90 megawatts, making it one of Italy’s largest installations of its type. Solar panels will be mounted several metres above the ground, allowing crops to grow beneath them; tracking panels are expected to cover about 200 hectares, nearly half of the site. Sources said the project could be completed within 18–24 months, after which the plant should supply power to Vatican Radio’s transmission station and help make Vatican City fully energy-self-sufficient. Any surplus electricity would be exported to Italy.

Reuters

Vatican City, the world’s smallest sovereign state and headquarters of the Catholic Church, has long relied on external electricity supplies. The Santa Maria di Galeria estate has housed Vatican Radio’s transmission facilities since the 1950s. The initiative aligns with the late Pope Francis’s climate-change agenda and, according to sources, received endorsement from Pope Leo XIV. A bilateral agreement originally drafted in 2025 was ratified by Italy earlier this year, extending the special tax-exempt status already granted to Vatican Radio facilities to the new agrivoltaic project. The Vatican will not benefit from Italian residential solar incentives, and the agreement stipulates that the development must not create additional public-finance burdens for Italy.

Reuters

Contracts for construction are slated to be put out to tender in the coming weeks, according to the same sources. The projected two-year completion window includes permitting and administrative procedures. No official comment was obtained from Vatican officials at the time of reporting.

Reuters

If completed as planned, the plant could supply the Holy See’s energy needs within two years and reduce reliance on external grids. By integrating agriculture with solar generation, the project also aims to lower crop evaporation and protect plants from extreme weather, potentially serving as a model for similar dual-use installations in Italy and beyond. The export of surplus power to the Italian grid may contribute modestly to the country’s renewable-energy mix, though the Vatican will not receive the financial incentives offered to Italian households and businesses.

Reuters