Monday, April 20, 2009
Vatican opts for solar power
The Vatican is going solar in a big way. The tiny enclave recently announced that it intends to spend 660 million dollars to create what will effectively be Europe's largest solar power plant. This massive 100 megawatt photovoltaic installation will provide enough energy to make the Vatican the first solar powered enclave or principality of its type in the world! The 100 megawatts unleashed by the station will supply about 40,000 households. That will far outstrip demand by Pope Benedict XVI and the 900 inhabitants of the 0.2 square-mile area nestled across Rome's Tiber River. The plant will cover nine times the needs of Vatican Radio.
It costs $660 million dollars now, but it cuts the Vatican's power bill to zero, and the spare power can be sold to Italy at the market rate, resulting in a significant financial win for the Vatican. The money saved is money that can then be spent on humanitarian projects around the world. Over the expected life of the panels, the money the Church could spend should be far greater and can do far more good than spending the $660 on humanitarian causes up front.
IMO: Whether the money saved will do more good than harm is a matter of disagreement, and the use of solar energy is only one way renewable energy saving can be carried out, more efficient lighting or electrical equipment being two other ways. Also it is clear that the Vatican wastes large amounts of money on expensive frippery like ornamental gold, silver and the like. OTOH Pope Benedict has consistently made statements like "The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the Earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development." The Vatican listed pollution as one of seven "social" sins in an effort last year to update the cardinal vices that date to the 6th century.
It costs $660 million dollars now, but it cuts the Vatican's power bill to zero, and the spare power can be sold to Italy at the market rate, resulting in a significant financial win for the Vatican. The money saved is money that can then be spent on humanitarian projects around the world. Over the expected life of the panels, the money the Church could spend should be far greater and can do far more good than spending the $660 on humanitarian causes up front.
IMO: Whether the money saved will do more good than harm is a matter of disagreement, and the use of solar energy is only one way renewable energy saving can be carried out, more efficient lighting or electrical equipment being two other ways. Also it is clear that the Vatican wastes large amounts of money on expensive frippery like ornamental gold, silver and the like. OTOH Pope Benedict has consistently made statements like "The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the Earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development." The Vatican listed pollution as one of seven "social" sins in an effort last year to update the cardinal vices that date to the 6th century.
# posted by uv : 6:52 PM
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