As part of efforts to shift towards “greener” urban areas, a city in Spain has begun installation of what’s to be the country’s largest urban solar farm in a somewhat unconventional location: cemeteries.

Valencia, found on the east coast of Spain, is on a mission to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. It’s in part motivated by a barrage of intense heatwaves seen in recent years, with the city breaking Spain’s heat records last year when it reached 46.8°C (116.2°F).

A popular approach to achieving climate goals has been shifting towards renewable energy and in particular, solar power – it’s even been beamed from space. But back down on Earth, where do you find room for a solar farm in a city, areas that aren’t exactly known for having a lot of room left to give?

That’s where “Requiem In Power”, or “RIP” comes in, Valencia’s appropriately named plan to install 6,658 photovoltaic panels across the city’s cemeteries and help to generate 27 percent of the city's energy from renewable sources.

The panels are being installed on top of crypts and other structures in five public cemeteries across the city, with the goal of creating a total capacity of 2.8 megawatts. As reported by TheMayor.EU, 810 panels have been placed in three cemeteries so far; that’s enough to produce 440,000 kilowatts of electricity per year and cut down on 140 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

When completed, the number of panels would see the project become the largest urban solar farm in Spain, and would provide electricity primarily to public utilities, but also some local households.

Outside of the RIP project, the city has 29 other programs in its climate mission, covering plans to reduce car use to improve air quality, transform buildings to maximize energy efficiency, and change all lighting across the city to LED.

These plans could go a long way towards local authorities and the Spanish government avoiding the same fate recently seen by Swiss authorities. 

Arguing that climate inaction by the government had left them vulnerable to the effects of climate change-induced heatwaves, a group of older Swiss women ended up taking authorities to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In early April, the court ruled that their human rights had indeed been violated by the inaction, marking the first time that a climate-related case had been won in the ECHR. 

With 97 percent of Valencia’s residents living within 300 meters (984 feet) of a green area, and the cemeteries’ residents unlikely to make a protest about the new décor, it seems unlikely officials will see the inside of that particular courtroom anytime soon when it comes to the climate.