The energy transition in Spain faces a critical moment. Despite having one of the greatest potentials in Europe, the massive deployment of clean infrastructure collides with administrative complexity, the judicialization of projects and rejection in the rural environment.
This is the main conclusion of the study “Renewable energies: development and social and territorial integration”, prepared by the Institut Cerdà and presented by the Naturgy Foundation. The report warns that integration with local communities is a mandatory condition to meet the climate goals set for 2030 and 2050.
Extraordinary potential
According to the report, in 2024, renewable energies surpassed non-renewable sources in Spanish electricity generation for the second consecutive year. He National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) outlines an ambitious roadmap towards 2030 and 2050, and Spain is among the European countries with the greatest potential in solar photovoltaics, wind and renewable gases such as biomethane. The study recognizes this starting point, but warns that taking advantage of this potential requires a massive deployment of infrastructure—panels, wind turbines, evacuation lines, storage systems—which has a direct and visible impact on the soil, the landscape, the biodiversity and the traditional activities of the rural territories where the majority of the facilities are concentrated.
“The key is not only where the projects are implemented, but how they are planned, how they are communicated and how their benefits are distributed,” said Marta Bellera, director of the Risk Management Area of the Institut Cerdà, during the presentation of the study. The report warns that administrative complexity, the judicialization of projects and the lack of social acceptance can slow down the pace of deployment necessary to meet climate objectives, turning what should be an opportunity into a conflict of interest between promoters, administrations and local communities.
The importance of the territory
One of the central arguments of the report is that renewable projects generate real benefits – local employment, income for municipalities, improved energy autonomy – but that these benefits do not reach the affected communities automatically or equitably. When neighbors perceive that they bear the visual, landscape or land use impacts without receiving a tangible part of the benefits in return, distrust sets in and projects encounter resistance. The lack of adequate management of the social component can lead to conflicts, administrative delays and, in extreme cases, the judicialization of strategic facilities for the transition.
The solution proposed by the study is not to stop the deployment, but to redesign the process: incorporate early dialogue, transparency and active listening from the initial planning phases, before positions become polarized. “The energy transition will only be possible if we combine decarbonization, security of supply and competitiveness, and that requires permanent dialogue between all actors,” he stated. Silvia Sanjoaquín, director of Transformation, Technology and Environment of Renewable Generation at Naturgywho added that territorial integration “begins by designing and operating projects from a technical and social point of view, generating shared value with the territory.”
The magnitude of the challenge is considerable. Naturgy, for example, must go from half a terawatt hour of biomethane produced today to twenty in 2030, which means developing a large number of facilities in a very short time. This urgency makes it even more necessary for the processes to be efficient and have the support of the communities from the beginning.
Territorial planning
In the discussion after the presentation, Jaume Margarit, head of Energy Planning at the Institut Català d’Energia (ICAEN), explained the approach that Catalonia is developing through PLATER – the Sectorial Territorial Plan for wind and photovoltaic electricity generation, its evacuation lines and its storage elements. The objective of the instrument is to organize the implementation process, distribute the effort in a balanced way between all the municipalities and the agents involved, and integrate environmental, urban, agricultural and social criteria. “The challenge of the energy transition in Catalonia will only be possible if we manage to fit it into the territory and have local acceptance,” said Margarit.
The municipal perspective was also represented in the debate. Víctor Torrents, from the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM), recognized that city councils fully share the need to advance in the energy transition, but stressed that the opportunities are local and must be addressed while respecting municipal autonomy. “There is still a way to go for these implementations to generate tangible and lasting wealth in the territory,” he warned.
Co-responsibility
The Institut Cerdà report proposes a set of good practices aimed at all the actors involved – promoting companies, public administrations at different levels, social fabric and technical and economic agents – that converge in the same message. Only through co-responsibility and collaboration between all parties will it be possible to turn renewable deployment into a real opportunity for territorial development and social cohesion.
María Eugenia Coronado, general director of the Naturgy Foundation, who opened the day, stressed that the energy transition is a large-scale collective challenge that cannot be faced solely from a technical or regulatory approach. “Renewable energies must be incorporated in a balanced way in the territory, take into account the voice of local communities and promote the involvement of all parties to ensure the success of the projects and strengthen trust