The municipality of Barásoain (Navarra) has been awarded the Eolo 2019 Prize for Rural Integration of Wind Power in Spain, granted by the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE). The jury, which met in Madrid on 13 May, considered that Barásoain is an example of economic development, facilitated thanks to the exploitation of wind power. The locality has seen extensive development of this technology in the form of industrial facilities and wind farms, which has had positive socioeconomic repercussions in terms of revenue and employment. Furthermore, the many visits made to these facilities have raised the profile of the village and benefited service companies in the area.
The jury took into account that Barásoain has a wind turbine assembly plant, an experimental wind energy park and a wind power storage installation based on batteries -all owned by the ACCIONA Group- within its municipal boundaries. This reflects an industrial, experimental and innovative presence in the field of wind power that has always had the support of local residents and has had major economic and social repercussions on the village and the surrounding area.
Barásoain is also home to seven wind turbines of a wind farm that it shares with other municipalities. The village (population: 620) is located in an area -the Central Zone of Navarra- where wind farms with a capacity of over 300 MW are located.
