The numbers in a recent Spanish government report are staggering. By 2030, more than 40 percent of the country’s electricity needs must be generated sustainably. By that year, more than 50,000 MW will be produced by wind turbines and 39,000 MW by solar collectors. (For comparison: the capacity of the only Dutch nuclear power plant is less than 500 MW).
The Spanish plans mean almost a doubling of the existing green installations. They also mean a lot of money. The investments in the new solar and wind farms are estimated at 91 billion euros.
The arrival of the energy parks seemed to be an opportunity for aging villages and cities to attract new businesses and inhabitants as well as money, but not much has come of it yet. This century, the population of the ’empty’ federal states declined even further. For example, the northern region of Asturias shrank by 27 percent and nearby Galicia by 17 percent. Castile and León, which is electing a new government today, has lost a fifth of its population due to an aging population. It is a gigantic area, twice the size of the Netherlands.
After that, every comparison is flawed, because as densely populated as the Netherlands is, Castile and León is so sparsely populated: 25 inhabitants per square kilometer.
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