Vatican Installs Solar Panel Roof

Pope Benedict XVI has become the first pontiff to harness solar power to provide energy for the Vatican

Roof tiles on the Paul VI auditorium - used in poor weather for the Pope's weekly audience with pilgrims - are being replaced by 2,700 solar panels.
The photovoltaic cells will convert sunlight into electricity, generating enough power to light, heat or cool the 6,000 seat hall, engineers say.
Conserving global resources has been a priority for the German-born Pope.
Since he was elected in 2005, Benedict XVI has criticised "the unbalanced use of energy" in the world.
He has also said environmental damage was making "the lives of poor people on earth especially unbearable".

Surplus power

Working beneath a brilliantly clear Roman sky on Monday, a group of engineers in yellow T-shirts positioned the dark cells on the auditorium's roof.
Andre Koekenhoff, one of the workers, said the initiative was an attempt to make the Vatican "a little bit greener".
"With this plant, if it is working, in about two weeks we avoid 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide, and this is the equivalent to 70 tonnes of oil," he told the Associated Press news agency.
When the hall is not in use, the surplus energy produced will reportedly be fed into the Vatican's power network.
The Paul VI auditorium was designed by architect Pier Luigi Nervi and built in 1969, but the cement panels on its roof were deteriorating and it was decided last year to replace them with solar panels.
The panels, reportedly worth $1.5m, were donated as a gift to the German-born Pope by a Bonn-based company, Solar World, AP reported.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7642811.stm

Going Green: Solar Energy Video

FOUR MYTHS ABOUT SOLAR POWER

DID YOU KNOW... The United States receives more energy in the form of sunlight in less than 40 minutes than from all the fossil fuels we burn every year? Source: Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation

1. MYTH: Solar energy and solar designs work well only in warm, sunny climates. REALITY: Solar technologies and passive solar design can work efficiently and cost-effectively anywhere in the United States, even in cloudy communities. Solar energy electrifies message signs and flashing arrow boards on roadways in every state in the country. Solar water heating systems are providing hot water economically for a swimming pool in Aurora, Colorado, and a Transportation Agency building in Boston. Solar energy pre-heats ventilation air in Fort Carson, Colorado and Ontario, Canada. A dozen small lighthouses off the New England coast run on solar power while large lighthouses are being converted to solar power off the shores of Washington State and lower Alaska. Passive solar design illuminates a nonprofit health facility in Frederick, Maryland - an area that receives 25 percent less sunshine than the national average. Energy storage systems make solar technologies in less sunny regions possible. Some photovoltaic systems store electricity in batteries so that energy can be retrieved later - even after up to 30 consecutive days without sunlight. Solar water heating systems typically are linked with conventional backup heaters which need to be fired up only during periods of cloudiness or excessive demand.

2. MYTH: Solar power is too costly. REALITY: There are hundreds of situations where solar is the least expensive method for delivering power. Each solar power example in this issue is saving money over its life-cycle. Many solar outdoor lighting applications are immediately less expensive than grid-connected systems because they avoid costly pavement cutting and repair.

3. MYTH: Solar power is not as reliable as conventional energy technologies. REALITY: Solar is often more reliable than any other energy source. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found photovoltaics to be "the most reliable source of electric power ever invented." According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, surveys taken over the last decade what that over 94 percent of solar water heating owners consider their solar heater to be a wise investment. The main reason for solar's superior reliability is that as a decentralized power source, it is not subject to power blackouts or breaks in a system network. Because it is highly reliable, solar technologies are used to power warning signals, navigational buoys, aircraft warning lights and railroad crossing signals.

4. MYTH: Solar power is not practical in urban areas. REALITY: Solar-powered lights eliminate the need to trench underground and dig up asphalt; thus, they are cost-effective alternatives to grid connections in many urban settings. Solar water heating is usually an economical replacement for electric heaters in any urban setting. Solar ventilation air pre- heaters are as often found in urban settings as well as remote locations.

(Reprint, ENERGY IDEAS, Washington, D.C., Spring/Summer 1996 edition)


Copyright © 1996. The Light Party.

http://www.lightparty.com/Energy/SolarPower.html

Solar Living

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