“Jesus tells us that we must be in solidarity with the weakest and also with the future, which is the environment,” says Josep Torrente, the rector of the parishes of Sant Pere i Sant Pau and La Mercè de El Prat de Llobregat. while watching how two workers install photovoltaic panels on the roof of the first one. Before they did it in the other church. And the ecclesiastical world of the town has decided to join Energia del Prat, the town's energy community, giving up space to install panels. These two parishes are already part of the entity and work is being done to also incorporate Sant Cosme.
Torrente already had in mind installing solar panels for self-consumption of the religious facilities it manages. “But talking to the City Council has given us the possibility of making a more powerful installation and helping the community,” he says. “Part of the energy will be to fight against energy poverty among the most vulnerable, a fact that convinced me,” he adds.
From Sant Pere and Sant Pau alone the equivalent of the consumption of 140 families will be generated. 15% of the electricity will be kept by the church, which will also receive financial compensation for its consumption.
The rest will go to the Energia del Prat network, which is a mixed company made up of 40% by the City Council, another 40% by individuals and companies and the remaining 20% by users. Called to be the largest local citizen energy community in Spain, it is working to begin distributing energy early next year.
