Power From Beyond the Grave
Long live the dead.
In my experience cemeteries are cold, windy places with little purpose other than, in some sense, to soften the cruelty of death for grieving relatives. The upkeep of a grave, adding personal little touches, visiting on Sundays or on anniversaries all provide solace of a source, and like everything else it can become a bit of an industry. Of course there are strong arguments against using large tracts of land to house the dead, but they do provide green spaces in cities and give crowded centres of population room to breathe.
One large town in Spain, Santa Coloma de Gramenet near Barcelona, has now discovered another benefit of setting aside space for the dead. This town of some 124,000 people who are squeezed into 4 square kilometres has installed 462 solar panels on top of the mausoleums. This, it is claimed, will be able to provide electric power for 60 homes each year which is equivalent to a reduction of 62 tonnes of carbon dioxide finding its way into the atmosphere every year.
Of course the sensitivities of some grieving relatives had to be overcome before the installation of €720,000 worth of the grey-blue panels.. It was thought by many as disrespectful towards the dead, but assurances were given that the installations would be discrete and unobtrusive. Given that the mausoleums hold five levels of the deceased above ground, the panels sit well above eye level, and the necropolis of 57,000 is now of much more than just sentimental value to the town.
Cities often have trouble finding the ideal location for the installation of solar panels because of the lack of open spaces. Buildings block light from reaching ground level for much of the day and people find the sight objectionable, so a sprawling cemetery offers everything needed. More panels are envisaged for the future.
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User Comments
Enzo Silvestri
On November 24, 2008 at 10:35 am
Good idea, it’s not as if the tenants of the cemetery will complain.
Glynis Smy
On November 24, 2008 at 10:39 am
That was well thought out, I am a great believer in solar panels. Interesting article (again) Rask.
Enzo Silvestri
On November 24, 2008 at 10:40 am
speaking of cemeteries, a few years ago my home town of Brisbane was complaining that the available burial spaces were almost non existent. It was suggested to bury people in already used sites, sort of stack em up deal. My suggestion to alleviate this was to bury the deceased vertically, that way you’d fit 3 coffins in every plot.
Jo Bingham
On November 24, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Fascinating. And I agree with Enzo, I doubt the tenants will be complaining.
James DeVere
On November 24, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Solar panels for the dead would certainly help them; I hear it’s chilly in death. Ha ha. Still, a great way to use the space and make use of the tract.
Maybe electric wires throught the corpses would help heat a home or two. Capture the methane from the rot? The list is endless. Good one J
joystick7
On November 25, 2008 at 1:45 am
Well thought views!
Joe Poniatowski
On November 25, 2008 at 8:11 am
If I were dead, and yet capable of holding an opinion, I’d be glad that the space I occupied wasn’t being completely wasted.
TBone762
On November 29, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Hear Hear… I agree completely with Joe P.’s comment! I used to think I wanted to be cremated so as not to take up space here anymore… Now I’m wondering how large is the carbon footprint from all the crematoriums across the globe?!?
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