he Vatican has replaced the panels on the roof of the Paul VI Hall with PV modules.
The modules were made according to the specs of the original tiles planned by the building’s architect, Pier Luigi Nervi. We tend to conveniently forget, but the “Church” has a long history of supporting science (not always… refrain from the obvious in your comments please!) – in that vein the inauguration ceremony will take place at the headquarters of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
The panels are just the beginning of the church’s efforts to incorporate sustainable practices – in an effort to become the first carbon-neutral state (granted… it isn’t that big), the Vatican is also growing a 37-acre forest they’ve called the Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary to offset all of its CO2 emissions.
Now let’s see if the US and the EU can make efforts to do the same through Renewable Energy and carbon offsets while making a valiant effort at convincing India, China and other developing nations to at least make offsets for every coal powerplant they bring on line.
