Wind Power Pioneering Navarra - the case of Navarra in the 1990s

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the European Union established a shared regulatory framework aimed at promoting renewable electricity generation. However, responses at national and regional levels varied considerably across the continent. By 1999, the Spanish wind market had grown to become the third largest in Europe, behind Germany and Denmark, while the majority of other EU members were lagging behind in the development of renewable energy.

In Navarra, a region in northern Spain, a significant part of the country's wind power industries was built up. This seminar discusses the role of the institutional set-up in fostering a dynamic environment for public-private cooperation in renewable energy.

Navarra's rapid development was largely due to a regional public-private company known as Energía Hidroeléctrica de Navarra (EHN). The company developed into a dominant force in wind power generation in Spain and Europe within just a decade. Despite these remarkable developments, there is an absence of extensive academic analysis of the origins of this sector.

Navarra's strategic engagement in wind energy not only strengthened local electricity independence, but also established the region as a significant contributor to the broader European clean energy agenda.

Mar Rubio-Varas is Professor of Economic History at the Universidad Publica de Navarra and conducts research in energy economics and environmental economics.

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