More than 45 entities from the wind energy business sector and municipalities where wind farms are already operating or are planned to be installed have signed the first joint Declaration aimed at promoting sustainable local development.
This document establishes a framework for voluntary cooperation between wind energy development companies and the town councils that host or will host these infrastructures, defining principles of collaboration and common lines of work between both parties, according to the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE).
Among its basic pillars are the integration of wind energy respecting the social, economic, and environmental reality of each territory; the generation of shared benefits; co-responsibility between companies and administrations; the maintenance of transparent and permanent dialogue; and the implementation of good environmental practices that protect biodiversity and favor landscape integration.
The Declaration, signed at an event held in the Congress of Deputies, is part of the Wind Neighbors Forum, a platform created in 2025.
In Spain, more than 1,400 wind farms operate across more than 860 municipalities, meaning that 11% of Spanish towns have at least one wind farm. This Declaration gives a voice to more than 45,000 residents who live alongside these facilities and represents around 80% of the wind power currently installed in the country.
The president of the wind energy employers' association AEE, Rocío Sicre, emphasized the importance of "joining forces" for joint development throughout the rural areas where wind farms are integrated.
"The farms provide opportunities such as increased public revenue, population retention, generation of local economic activity, improvement of infrastructure and services, and creation of local employment. Spain is full of examples of public-private collaboration with developers who adapt to the needs of the territory and are committed to the communities, and with towns that have understood the opportunity and have prospered thanks to wind energy," she added in this regard.