BARCELONA , Spain ( CNN ) -- We traveled by metro to the Barcelona suburb of Santa Coloma de Gramenet , where the phrase over my dead body takes on a new meaning ; it 's the first town in Spain that has placed solar panels in its municipal cemetery and has been attracting global attention and causing local discussion . Santa Coloma de Gramenet cemetery : Where many rest in peace , some see renewable energy . We could quickly see why the town officials said there was not enough land to put the solar panels on the ground . The town is densely packed with tall apartment buildings for its population of 124,000 people , many of whom commute to work in nearby central Barcelona . From Santa Coloma 's city hall plaza , we took a taxi to the cemetery situated on the town outskirts , and the driver provided the first indication that not everyone approves of solar panels in a final resting place . `` In Spanish culture there 's a lot of respect for the dead . I do n't think people will like this idea , '' said taxi driver Juan Nogales , whose grandmother and uncle are buried in the cemetery . He said he did n't even know about the cemetery solar panels , even though town officials had told us earlier that there had been a broad public information campaign to inform residents and solicit their opinions before the solar panels were even installed . The cemetery provided further evidence of the land crunch in town . Few people are actually buried in the ground here . Instead , like in the apartment buildings , the deceased are stacked up in tall mausoleums , rising to five levels . Many Spanish towns have similar cemeteries . And where were the solar panels ? It 's true that the solar panels are not easily visible from the ground in many parts of the cemetery , but from up the hill and looking down the photovoltaic panels become readily apparent . Perched atop the mausoleums is a veritable sea of solar panels , connected by cables that channel the electricity into a small transformer station at the top of cemetery hill , which connects to tall electrical towers nearby . We stopped at the tomb of Teresa Grinon , who died in 1985 and rests in the top row of a mausoleum . There are four other tombs directly below her , but directly above her is a large solar panel . Esteve Serret 's family firm is in the cemetery management business . It has the contract to manage the Santa Coloma cemetery -- among others in Spain -- and the idea for the solar panels came from the firm . Serret , a cheerful man who speaks Spanish , English and Catalan said the aim was to put the solar panels discreetly in the cemetery . `` We think it 's important for the cemetery to generate this clean energy , but it 's so important to respect the use , the normal use , of the cemetery , '' Serret said . The cemetery florist , Francisca Hans , whose father and grandfather are buried here , perhaps had a bit of graveyard humor as she told us , with a smile . `` Nothing 's going to happen to the dead once they 're here if there are solar panels up above . '' We also talked to Natividad Jimenez , a housewife who has two brothers buried in the cemetery . She approves of the solar panels , and said that 's partly because another brother installs solar panels in Valencia . Santa Coloma 's environment councilor , Begona Bellette , told us about the city 's other solar initiatives , on the roofs of schools -- one of which we visited -- and at the library . The town proudly says the United Nations has recognized it in the fight against global warming . But the cemetery has many advantages over the other locations in town for solar panels , Bellette said . `` You have a large surface , with no chance of shadows on it that would reduce the energy production , '' Bellette said . The cemetery currently provides enough electricity to power 60 homes , Serret said . There are more solar panels planned for the cemetery , and Serret said a dozen other cities in Spain and Mexico have expressed interest in following their lead and are considering installing solar panels in their own cemeteries . Where many rest in peace , some see a renewable opportunity .
Solar cemetery in town just outside Barcelona the first of its kind in Spain . Panels fixed on top of five-storey mausoleum , power 60 homes . Relatives of deceased generally have no objections to solar installation .