In Valencia, RIP means using cemeteries to produce renewable energy

“Requiem in Power”, as is the full name of the project, is promoted as the largest urban solar plant in Spain

The City of Valencia officially launched the “Requiem in Power” project this month. And its abbreviation – RIP – is not random and unfortunate, but rather deliberate. You see, the initiative aims to install 6,658 photovoltaic panels not just anywhere but in the local cemeteries.

What’s more, the promoted objective is to actually create what would become the largest urban solar farm in all of Spain, in the words of Alejandro Ramon, Councilor for Climate Emergency and Energy Transition in the City of Valencia.

This first phase began with the installation of the first 810 photovoltaic panels in the Grau, Campanar and Benimàmet cemeteries, which will mean a total production of more than 440,000 kilowatts/year and more than 140 tons/year of carbon dioxide savings, according to municipal sources.

Leaving no municipal space unused

Cemeteries represent quiet spaces of repose and contemplation, but also urban spaces which could be enlisted in the energy transition process without changing their original purpose. Much the same way roofs of public buildings have also been converted to that objective.

The RIP project forms an integral part of the València 2030 Climate Mission, which was the backbone and a strong reason for the city to be chosen as the 2024 European Green Capital.

The longer-term objectives incorporated in the Climate Mission are: 27% of energy will be generated by renewable sources, 100% of València’s renewable energy production capacity will be incorporated in infrastructure and public buildings in 2030, city lighting will become 100% LED and local energy communities in València’s neighbourhoods will become a functioning reality.

The green electricity generated in the cemeteries will be mainly used for consumption in municipal buildings in order to make the local public sector self-sufficient, but 25% of it will also go to powering a thousand vulnerable households as well.