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FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog

March 28, 2007

Italy Shines a Light on the Environment

Italy is leading the way in alternative energy sources with the announcement that it will build the world's first solar power plant on the east coast of Sicily. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2009 and will be able to service about 4500 families.

The Archimedes project, as the plant is being called, comes just a few months after Australia announced its plans to construct a solar power plant that is scheduled for completion in 2013.

The Victoria plant, which was announced in October 2006, will produce enough clean electricity to meet the needs of more than 45,000 households, producing no greenhouse gas emissions in the process. According to Solar Systems, the company behind the Victoria plant, the project will reduce Victoria's environmental impact by approximately 400,000 tons of greenhouse gas per year.

The United States, on the other hand, has made no such announcement that it will do anything to help the environment, despite being the world's biggest carbon emitter. According to UN data, the US produces 20 tons per capita of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with a whopping 23% of the world's emissions, surpassing the world average of 3.7 tons per capita.

But fortunately for the US gov't, there are some fast companies out there trying to make up for our lack of green savvy.

Italy + Australia = very cool.
The United States = still falling depressingly behind.