Ireland’s most famous religious destination, Knock Shrine, is embracing a sustainable future with the installation of solar panels.

Solar PV panels installed on the roof of the Basilica at Knock are the latest in a number of energy efficiency improvements made to the pilgrimage site.

Fr Richard Gibbons, PP and Rector, Knock Shrine is very proud of the most recent climate action initiative.

“Photovoltaic Solar Panels are now installed on the roof of the Basilica. As these panels generate electricity in a wholly renewable manner, Knock Shrine will significantly reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to mitigating climate change.”

“Additionally, this initiative will contribute significant cost savings and reduce our reliance on the national grid electricity,” he added.

This follows on from assessments made of energy usage in the shrine campus, which also identified ways in which its caron emissions could be reduced.

Other upgrades which have made the shrine more environmentally friendly include improvements in heating systems efficiency and improved heating controls.

Further improvements are expected on buildings in the shrine campus in the coming years to reduce emissions and energy usage.

Pope Francis , in his encyclical Laudato Si’ urges us to transition to renewable energy.

‘There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy. Worldwide there is minimal access to clean and renewable energy.’