Development of Wind Farm Businesses and the Central Control of Smart Grid in Spain

This paper describes the role of the world's first centre for the integration of renewable energy electricity into the electrical grid (CECRE (Centro de Control de Energas Renovables; Control Centre for Renewable Energies)) and the industrial development of large energy suppliers and wind turbine manufacturers in Spain. This study is distinctive in that it offers a comprehensive understanding of the factors that led to Spain's relative decline in the global ranking of wind energy producers. The approach of the economic study of industrial policy enables one to explain why Spain's relative prominence in the global wind farm landscape has declined. Two initiatives enabled the development of one of the first integrated markets for this type of energy source. The key contributions were the development of two software programs (wind management and management of solar light incidence), their visual implementation, and centralized digital control. An economic and business history approach is used to show the rise and relative failure of the Spanish wind industry during the period 2004–2015, when Spain became the fourth country after China, the US, and Germany in terms of installed capacity of renewable energy and, in relative terms, the second country after Denmark.