Carlo Ratti to Design World's Largest Urban Solar Park for Rome's Expo 2030 Bid

Carlo Ratti Associati, in collaboration with Italo Rota and Richard Burdett, has unveiled plans for the Expo Solar Park, a massive urban solar farm for Rome's Expo 2030 candidacy. The project aims to transform the Tor Vergata site on Rome's periphery into a renewable energy hub with 150,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels and a peak capacity of 36 MWp, making it the largest urban solar farm globally. The park will feature hundreds of 'energy trees' and three thematic zones—City, Boulevard, and Park—to symbolize a transition from urban to natural environments. A green corridor will connect the site to the Appia Antica archaeological area. The design also incorporates the abandoned Vele di Santiago Calatrava structures, originally built for the university, into the redevelopment. Rome's bid, announced jointly by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Carlo Ratti at Expo Dubai 2020, competes against Odessa (Ukraine), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and Busan (South Korea). The Bureau International des Expositions will announce the winner in November 2023. Odessa's bid, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, proposes transforming abandoned farmland on the Khadzhibey estuary into a modular expo site using recycled materials from war damage. Busan plans to redevelop its historic North Port area, while Riyadh aims to blend history and future. The Expo Solar Park is intended as a replicable model for large-scale events, leaving a tangible legacy of energy efficiency and urban regeneration.