The Vatican is to invest about €100 million (£86 million) in an agrivoltaic power project designed to meet the energy needs of Vatican City and move the world’s smallest state towards carbon neutrality.
The solar-and-agriculture facility is expected to be operational within 18 to 24 months and will be built at Santa Maria di Galeria, an extraterritorial area owned by the Holy See outside Rome. The site is home to the Vatican’s radio transmission centre.
Sources familiar with the plans said the installation would have a capacity of between 80 and 90 megawatts. It is intended to supply electricity to Vatican City as well as the radio station, combining solar generation with agricultural use of the land.
Although Vatican City covers only around 44 hectares, the planned development will be located on the Santa Maria di Galeria estate, which extends to roughly 425 hectares. The project therefore falls outside the city-state’s compact urban boundaries while remaining under the administration of the Holy See.
Vatican solar project moves closer to construction
The scheme was first ordered by Pope Francis in June 2024 through the apostolic letter Fratello Sole, or “Brother Sun”. He tasked the Governorate of Vatican City State and the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See with developing an agrivoltaic plant capable of providing the state’s complete energy supply.
Pope Leo XIV has since advanced the plan through a series of administrative and legal steps. In June, he established the Fratello Sole Foundation to oversee the project and its financing, with responsibility for producing, distributing and monitoring electricity for Vatican City and related Holy See institutions.
A memorandum of understanding was signed on 10 June between the Vatican Governorate, the patrimony administration, the new foundation and the Italian utility ACEA. The company is expected to contribute expertise in energy, environmental management, water and agriculture.
The legal framework for the development was established by an agreement between Italy and the Holy See signed on 31 July 2025. It entered into force on 27 May 2026 after Italy completed the required ratification process.
During a visit to Santa Maria di Galeria in June 2025, Pope Leo described the project as “a wonderful opportunity”. The Vatican has said the facility will demonstrate that renewable energy production and agriculture can be combined while protecting the environment.
The new plant would be substantially larger than the Vatican’s existing solar capacity. A system of 2,394 panels installed on the roof of the Paul VI Audience Hall in 2008 produces about 300 megawatt-hours of electricity a year.
The Holy See pledged to the United Nations in 2023 to cut emissions by 20 per cent from 2011 levels by 2030, with a long-term goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050. The solar project is intended to provide a practical foundation for those commitments, as the Vatican seeks to become the first carbon-neutral state.
