Renewable Energy: Spanish wind power pushes back

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Europe

By the end of 2016 Spain became the world's fifth biggest producer of wind power, producing 19 percent of its power coverage. A Spanish company, Gamesa, now merged with Siemens, is a global leader in making wind turbines. But the breezes haven't always blown so favorably on this sector. Al Goodman takes a closer look.

Spain has long been bullish on wind energy. The ancient windmills of Spain's most famous novel, about Don Quijote of La Mancha, have been replaced by these modern versions. This European Union country is now the world's fifth largest producer of wind power for electricity, behind China, the United States, Germany and India. But there have been troubles in recent years for wind power here

AL GOODMAN good morning

WOMAN hello, good morning

AL GOODMAN good morning, Shall we go to the wind farm?

These wind energy experts take us to a wind farm a two-hour drive from Madrid. Spain has nearly eleven hundred wind farms and many are here in the north-central area. This wind energy trade group executive doesn't play down difficulties that have hurt business.

HEIKKI WILLSTEDT MESA SPANISH WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION It's not the best of the moments, but we think in a few years' time it will be starting to roll again.

In 2015 and 2016, he says virtually no new wind turbines were installed.

AL GOODMAN MEDINACELI, SPAIN If wind energy has had problems in Spain, it's not because of the wind. Across much of the country, the wind is strong and reliable. But the economy and government policies have not always been so steady.

Experts blame Spain's five-year economic crisis for halting what had been years of growth in wind energy

HEIKKI WILLSTEDT MESA SPANISH WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION Electricity consumption went down, so there was no need for new installations for production with electricity, so everything was stopped in renewables.

But even as Spain recovers, this wind farm manager says electrical prices set by the government can hurt business.

DIEGO GAMARRA, MANAGER CERROS DE RADONA WIND FARM We've even had to stop wind turbines on days with a lot of wind - because the official energy price was lower than what it cost to produce electricity.

Despite many obstacles, wind energy still produces 19 percent of Spain's electricity. And new installations of wind turbines have been approved, as Spain tries to meet the European Union's renewable energy targets for 2020. Industry leaders tirelessly make the case for wind.

HEIKKI WILLSTEDT MESA SPANISH WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION The resource comes with the wind. If you have good wind then it makes all the sense to use wind turbines to produce electricity. It's cheap and it's very low maintenance.

Al Goodman, CGTN, Medinaceli, Spain