Vatican City has plans to build the largest solar plant in Europe, which will supply enough power for 40,000 households in a state of 900 inhabitants.
"Advised by German solar-panel maker Solarworld AG, the Holy See is running counter to many governments that say harnessing sunlight on a grand scale is too costly to help curb global warming, especially in the deepest recession since World War II.
'Now is the time to strike,' Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican City's governor, said in an interview from his study overlooking the Michelangelo-designed Basilica of St. Peter's. 'One should take advantage of the crisis to try and develop these renewable-energy sources to the maximum, which in the long run will reap incomparable rewards.'
European nations, daunted by spending needed to stimulate their economies, find it hard to invest enough in clean power generation to help meet a European Union target to get an average 20 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Italy, whose Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi threatened to play 'bad guy' in December by trying to block EU legislation to fight climate change, was given a binding target for renewable energy consumption of 17 percent. That compares with 5 percent achieved in 2005."
FULL STORY: Pope Pursues Heavenly Power With Plant Harnessing Sun (Update2)
Vatican Embraces the Power of the Sun
The Vatican has announced plans to build Europe's largest solar plant to power the state.
Western Solar Plan Charts Course for Development on Public Lands
The BLM’s proposed maps could open up as much as 55 million acres to solar installations.
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Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
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California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
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Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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