On the edge of the sleepy town of Figueruelas in northeastern Spain, a single wind turbine stands tall, its slow rotation a quiet symbol of the windswept Aragón region.
Here, on sun-baked plains dotted with wind and solar farms, the country’s green energy transition feels tangible.
That symbolism recently deepened with the groundbreaking of a massive new electric vehicle battery factory nearby—a joint €4 billion investment from China’s CATL and the Netherlands-based Stellantis, hailed by the Chinese ambassador as one of the largest Chinese investments Europe has ever seen.
For local mayor Luis Bertol Moreno, the location was a logical fit. “We’re in Aragón, where there’s wind all year round and abundant sunshine,” he explains. “We’re surrounded by wind turbines and solar panels.
That renewable energy will be crucial for powering the factory, and I understand it was the key reason for choosing Figueruelas.”
The project is a powerful endorsement of Spain’s energy model. The country has aggressively shifted toward renewables, which supplied just a third of its electricity in 2017 but rose to 57% last year.
The government aims for 81% by 2030. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez even offered a green retort to a famous pro-fossil fuel slogan: “Green, baby, green,” he declared, championing the economic and environmental benefits of clean energy.
Yet recently, this steadfast commitment has faced intense scrutiny. The trigger was a major blackout on April 28 that plunged homes, businesses, and public services across Spain and Portugal into darkness for hours. With the government unable to provide a full explanation, the nation’s energy mix became a heated political battleground.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative opposition, accused the government of “fanaticism” in its push for renewables, suggesting an over-reliance on green sources may have contributed to the grid failure.
Feijóo and other critics on the right are now calling for a fundamental rethink of Spain’s energy strategy—casting a shadow of doubt just as the country seeks to solidify its position as a European leader in the green economy.
By James Kisoo
