Almudena Alvarez | Hornillos de Cerrato (Palencia) (EFE).- With 175 inhabitants, swimming pools, paddle tennis courts, fiber optics, a taxi driver and diving courses, the Palencia town of Hornillos de Cerrato wants to demonstrate that wind energy blows in favor of emptied Spain .
The windmills have brought prosperity, employment and 400,000 euros a year of extra income to the municipality, which are used to fix the population thanks to the services provided and which have changed the lives of its neighbors.
At first glance, Hornillos de Cerrato is surrounded by wind turbines, but when you walk through its streets, it is surprising that a town of 175 inhabitants is so full of life.
A group of bricklayers is working on the construction of several houses, two gardeners take care of the green areas and in the bar they are preparing food for 30 people. It can be said that, unlike other towns in emptied Spain, life is heard here.
Hornillos de Cerrato forms part of the 13% of municipalities and 0.01% of the national territory where there are wind farms, within a community, Castilla y León, which is at the forefront in wind energy production with 273 parks, 6.6 GW installed, more than 1,700 jobs and a contribution of 776 million euros to GDP; and within a “leading and highly innovative” country that ranks as the third largest producer of wind power in Europe and the sixth in the world with 30 GW installed.
“We believe that society has to be better informed about wind energy,” Carlos Martí, spokesman for the Vientos de futuro platform, explained to EFE, who this Wednesday organized a visit to see the Celada Fusión park “an example of innovation in Spain ” built by Acciona on land in Baltanás, Herrera de Valdecañas and Hornillos de Cerrato, in the province of Palencia.
40 associations
This platform, made up of 40 associations of all kinds, is opening up to society the debate on the “orderly” development of wind energy in Spain, seen as “a great economic opportunity, but which must also be accompanied by integration into the territory and a social consensus”, Martí assured.
In this sense, the spokesperson for Vientos de futuro wanted to point out that the 1,300 wind farms (23,000 wind turbines) that are installed in Spain “visually draw a lot of attention but occupy a very small percentage of the territory”.
0.01% of the national area in 13% of the municipalities in Spain and yet they avoid the emission of 30 million tons of CO2 per year in Spain, have a neutral impact on the environment and generate socioeconomic development .
It can be said that, in addition to coexisting with other activities such as agriculture, livestock or the forestry sector, wind energy contributes to improving the quality of life in rural areas with the income it provides to the municipalities where it is installed, so “It directly fights against depopulation and climate change,” said Martí.
In Hornillos de Cerrato, wind energy has meant “a before and after”. Says its mayor, Ignacio Valdeolmillos, in statements to EFE.
Just eight years ago, this town in the Cerrato of Palencia had just over a hundred inhabitants and practically lived off agriculture, but windmills began to populate its hills and changed the lives of its inhabitants.
wind farm income
Today the income generated by the wind farm has multiplied the City Council budget by five (535,000 euros in 2022) and with it the services with which the municipality has been provided, which has meant that “the quality of life of the residents has remarkably improved”, assures the mayor.
The swimming pool, the multipurpose pavilion, the paddle tennis courts, the children’s playground, the mini golf course, the zip line park or the fact that all the streets of the town are paved, are just a small example of everything that has been possible thanks to the income generated with wind energy in this municipality that is now immersed in new projects, such as the construction of a residence for the elderly, making some gypsum mines visitable and installing fiber optics to be connected at maximum speed.
But employment has also been created and the population has increased from 110 to 175 people in just eight years in a town that is dedicated “to the people”, as the mayor affirms.
That is why they have three bailiffs who are in charge of fixing the remote control for the elderly, taking the butane cylinder home, organizing activities and excursions so that they stay active and everything their neighbors need.
In addition, a taxi driver takes the elderly to the doctor or to Palencia and the bar is now also a restaurant and prepares food for an average of 30 people every day.
“Everything comes from wind power,” says the mayor who sees wind power as an opportunity for emptied Spain, with many benefits and no drawbacks, from the point of view of this farmer who sees how scarce water is for irrigation and pessimism envelops many neighboring towns.
“We can only say good things, our town has changed and we are the envy of others,” says Valdeolmillos, who cannot imagine a future for his town without windmills.
“Without wind turbines, it is very likely that the Hornillos town hall would already be in Torquemada because many people would have left,” he says. “And we have even done diving courses in the pools, why not?” concludes the mayor. EFE