More than 45 organisations from Spain’s wind energy sector and the municipalities hosting wind farms have signed a joint declaration in the Spanish Congress setting out a common framework for local sustainable development. The declaration establishes five principles of cooperation and five lines of action aimed at strengthening collaboration between project developers and local councils.
It was developed under the Vecinos Eólicos forum, a platform launched in 2025 to give greater visibility to people living alongside wind farms and to create a structured space for dialogue between communities, authorities and companies.
Spain has more than 1,400 wind farms across over 860 municipalities, with around 11% of Spanish municipalities hosting wind energy projects. The declaration represents more than 45,000 residents living alongside wind farms and around 80% of installed wind capacity in the country.
The declaration sets out a voluntary cooperation framework between wind energy developers and municipalities hosting or planning wind installations. It emphasises that the relationship between developers and local authorities is long term, often lasting decades, and forms part of wider economic and territorial development in rural areas.
It is based on five core principles: integrating wind energy in line with the social, economic and environmental realities of each territory; ensuring shared benefits; shared responsibility between companies and public administrations; continuous and transparent dialogue; and the application of environmental best practice to support biodiversity and landscape integration.
To implement these principles, the declaration defines actions focused on information and participation, local economic development, employment and training, shared value creation and ongoing monitoring of relations between municipalities and wind projects. Participating organisations and municipalities will receive public recognition for their commitment to sustainable development and will be able to join a network for exchanging experience and best practice led by the association.
Wind energy currently contributes more than €265 million annually to Spanish municipalities. It supports local development plans and socio-economic activity and is seen as a factor in helping address rural depopulation.
Wind farms operate across 868 municipalities in Spain, covering around 0.017% of the country’s land area. Alongside energy production, they coexist with agriculture, livestock farming, fishing and tourism.
