Renewable energy is booming in Extremadura and is benefiting regional development. Large-scale solar energy installations have the lion’s share of renewable energy deployment. These include some of the biggest photovoltaic (PV) parks in Europe. Extremadura is a good example of the benefits and challenges of rapid and large-scale deployment of renewable energy in rural areas. The deployment of installations has generated a large number of temporary jobs in the construction sector, although long-term jobs in maintenance and manufacturing activities are relatively few. Some companies have been able to specialise in production connected to the renewable energy supply chain.
The report mainly finds out three points: i) Predominantly, rural regions can engage in ambitious renewable energy deployment plans. ii) Renewable energy development can bring some benefits in terms of revenues for local communities and employment creation, but there is a risk of generating very high expectations. iii) The focus on large-scale renewable energy deployment projects (i.e. attracting investment) should not undermine small-scale projects involving close co-operation with local communities.
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