Spanish Wind boom

By Xeni Jardin at 6:27 am Tuesday, May 10

By way of Bruce Sterling's Viridian Design list, a story on the economic transformation taking place in a poor rural region of Spain -- thanks to wind power.

Over the past decade, 500 wind machines have sprouted around the little hamlet, which lies 15 miles (25km) from Zaragoza. Once a forgotten village in one of Spain's poorest regions, La Muela has become a capital of wind-assisted energy production. And the windmills have not only transformed the landscape. From the moment the first blades began to whir, the good times for La Muela's 3,000 inhabitants began to roll.

Each year, the giant electricity companies that run the windmills pay about L1m (E600,000) to La Muela's local council in royalties and land rents, and another E500,000 to private landowners, who receive E2,000 or E3,000 annually per windmill, according to their power. Most turbines generate between 600 and 800kw per hour but some as tall as 24-storey skyscrapers produce 2,000kw/h.

After knowing only hardship for generations, La Muela's residents have stumbled on a windfall that has changed their lives. The fierce north wind that gives La Muela its Siberian winters has also made its fortune.

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