Strong wind development with no community participation. The case of Galicia (1995–2009)

This paper aims to identify the factors leading to strong wind energy development in Galicia from 1995 to 2009, in the absence of social conflict. Using participatory research techniques, our work indicates that the absence of local opposition is associated to the regulatory framework throughout this period. The central elements contributing to a better understanding of the success of this wind energy development with no social conflict are vertical decision-making and wind energy planning; the lack of institutional information and participation mechanisms and, above all, the process that declared it as Public Utility, thus opening the possibility of land expropriation. Our work concludes that, in the case under study, communities had no relevant role; their participation in the wind energy development process was a mere formality emptied of decision-making capacity. The scope of community benefits therefore became irrelevant in explaining wind dynamics within that territory.