Historic first: new cathedral's stained glass windows will provide solar power

Let there be light!  It will be the first church in North America to use this particular kind of solar energy.

Details:

A different kind of trinity is emerging at Saskatoon’s newest cathedral, where the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon is combining art, technology and faith in a stunning and environmentally-friendly project.

The Holy Family Catholic Church, a $28.5-million cathedral under construction in Saskatoon’s northeast, has solar cells embedded in the large stained glass windows that will be installed this spring.

The cathedral could be the first church in North America to use photovoltaic cells in a stained glass installation, said cathedral building committee chair Jim Nakoneshny. The University of British Columbia used the combination in a library.

“It’s an art installation, but being able to incorporate energy-collecting methods is a way to show sustainability can be done without it being an ugly feature on the building,” he said.

You can read more at the link — and see how it works in the video below.  There’s also information at the cathedral website.