Vatican Goes Solar Powered With Europe's Largest Solar Electricity Plant

The world’s smallest state, the Vatican, is set to spend 500 million euros ($660 million) building the biggest solar plant in Europe near the medieval village of Santa Maria di Galeria.

With advice from German solar-panel maker Solarworld AG, the Holy See is taking a different path to governments who say large scale solar power is not a viable power option and just getting on with the job of doing it. The Vatican power plant will generate around 100 megawatts or enough for 40,000 households. With only 900 inhabitants of the Vatican including Pope Benedict XVI, the excess electricity will sold to Italy.

The bold green move backs other statements made by the Pope including his listing of environmental destruction or pollution as being a sin.