Wind energy as a strategic commitment for Spain
- Spain is an energy island which is highly dependent on the exterior (81% of the primary energy consumed is imported and derives from fossil fuels) and it needs more security as regards the supply of energy
- Wind energy is a native source of energy which already generates 16% of the electricity
- It avoids imports of fossil fuels (which are a serious burden on the Spanish balance of trade and make economic reactivation difficult) for over a billion Euros
- Spain needs to change the production model, incentivate investments in R&D and promote strong, competitive companies; the wind sector is a model as it involves companies which are world leaders and with strong SME’s throughout the supply chain
- The wind sector is key to comply with the European energy consumption objectives using renewable sources in 2020
- All the big countries around us are committing to wind energy
Wind energy as a source of wealth and employment
- The wind energy sector employs over 30,000 people in Spain
- It is the engine of the rural communities in which it is located (job creation, purchases from local suppliers, demand for services)
- Spain is the fourth country in the world in terms of wind energy patents: it invests over 150 million Euros per year in R&D
- Wind energy increasingly contributes to GDP (over 3 billion Euros) and to exports (over 2 billion Euros)
Wind energy as a source of cheap energy
- Wind energy remuneration in Spain is one of the lowest in the European Union
- Wind energy is the most competitive technology included under the special regime (which does not only include renewables, but also cogeneration): it is the one which is closest to being profitable without incentives
- It lowers electricity prices by dislodging more expensive combustion technologies on the market
- Wind energy costs every average Spanish home 1.3 Euros a month and saves each industrial consumer 160,000 Euros on average per year
Wind energy as the energy of the future
- Pumping and the electric vehicle will be conducive to greater and better use of wind energy
- Offshore wind energy allows the wind which comes from the sea to be used
- Medium power wind energy and the mini wind farms are already a reality
- Repowering involves a better use of space, allows better use to be made of good sites, maintains the high technological level of wind farms and reduces the environmental impact
Wind energy as a guarantee of environmental sustainability
- Wind energy does not contaminate, is inexhaustible and slows down the exhausting of fossil fuels, helping to prevent climate change
- It is a leading technology at avoiding CO2 emissions
- It is the renewable energy which contributes most to Spain’s commitments to cut CO2
- Every kWh produced with wind energy has 21 times less environmental impact than that produced by oil, 10 times less than that of nuclear energy and 5 times less than gas
Wind energy as a success story in Spain
- Historically, Spain has been regulated in stable fashion with predictable, sufficient remuneration
- It has wind resources and has made an effort to improve electric infrastructures
- It is one of the first countries in the world to integrate wind energy into the grid
- Its companies are world leaders in the wind sector
- Leadership is transferred to the whole manufacturing chain
- The sector has a build strong industrial and R&D network which allows exports
- The development of the wind energy industry in Spain is quoted as an example worldwide
