When it comes to cemeteries, RIP tends to stand for Rest In Peace, but the Spanish city of Valencia has changed its meaning to Requiem in Power. In an attempt to save carbon dioxide and produce as much energy as possible within its city limits, Valencia has started to use its cemeteries as urban solar farms.
RIP is part of the city’s 2030 Climate Mission, which aims to get 27% of its energy demand from renewable sources by 2030. Instead of turning valuable agricultural land into solar powerhouses or just focusing on rooftops and other conventional locations, the city has decided to make the most out of its cemeteries.
After taking into account the available space, Valencia calculated that the city’s cemeteries might eventually host no less than 6,658 solar panels, which would be the largest urban solar farm in Spain, according to Alejandro Ramon, Valencia’s Councilor for Climate Emergency and Energy Transition.
Anem a construir la planta fotovoltàica pública i urbana més gran de l'Estat.
— Alejandro Ramon (@_alejandroramon) December 22, 2021
El projecte Rèquiem In Power (RIP) disposarà de vora 7.000 plaques solars als sostres dels cementeris municipals ⛪️☀️
2,8 megavats d’energia renovable!⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️#Rèquieminpower pic.twitter.com/2qpIW7yhkU
“This project is one of the municipal commitments to sustainability, which meets our commitment to energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. It is an initiative that is part of the projects related to the European Green Capital and the objectives of the Climate Agreement signed by the Valencia City Council for Mission 2030”, said municipal spokesperson Juan Carlos Caballero Montañés.
Since the start of the project in May 2024, 810 panels have already been installed at the El Grau, Campanar and Benimàmet cemeteries, while the second part of the project will also include the General and Cabanyal cemeteries. Once all the panels are installed, they could produce 440,000 kilowatts of energy per year, enough to power the city’s municipal buildings and to leave 25% for powering 1,000 vulnerable households. The entire project is expected to cost 3.2 million euros.
Solar panels in a cemetery might sound strange, but a French municipality has already done a similar project. The Saint-Joachim cluster of islands in the Brière marsh has set the goal to develop a 1.3-megawatt solar canopy over the cemetery by 2025, which should produce enough energy for all of the commune’s 4,000 residents, who also have the chance to buy a 5 euro share and become part of the project themselves.
