Spanish desk holds its final workshop at the GENERA international fair on environment & energy

On 6 February 2020, the Spanish desk held its final closing workshop in Madrid during the GENERA International Fair on Environment and Energy. The objective of the national WinWind workshop was to share the results obtained in Spain for this Horizon 2020 project throughout its almost three years of intense work. Likewise, reference was made to the milestones reached in five other countries of the European Union thanks to the work of our partners. The focus was mainly on presenting those good practices identified by WinWind that have been or are being extrapolated from within the project to the Spanish national framework.
The workshop also included the participation of national and international authorities, leaders of the WinWind project, representatives of the WinWind transfer teams in the 'learning regions' (Balearic Islands in Spain), academics and other stakeholders, including those responsible for National desks of WinWind.

Maria Rosaria di Nucci, project coordinator of WinWind opened the event. Then, the head of the wind department at the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE) highlighted the importance of social acceptance for the sector. Later, the industrial perspective and the importance of social acceptance was explained by a representative of the Spanish Wind Association (AEE). The results of the WinWind project on social acceptance of wind energy in the Balearic Islands were reflected upon by the Director
of the Balearic Energy Institute. Furthermore, the analysis of the territorial conflict in the deployment of wind energy was elaborated on by an academic from the University of Tarragona. Finally, a round table was held on the topic of “social acceptance: a crucial challenge for the deployment of wind and renewable energy”.

Key outcomes

• Increasing wind energy can only be achieved if citizen participation directly leads to an advantage to those citizens
• Procedural and administrative complexity remains a key challenge in the Balearic Islands
• In the Balearic Islands, there is both a fear of facing the negative impact of wind energy but at the same time lots of interest for community owned/cooperative wind energy.
• The deployment of renewables must be accompanied by a clear territorial reading. This must be integrated into the dynamics/characteristics of the territories.