Galicia, A Wind Portrait
MIT
Cambridge MA, US
2023
Due to its strategic location facing the Atlantic Ocean's winds, Galicia plays a pivotal role in the renewable energy infrastructure of Spain to meet the 2050 decarbonization goals. This research focuses on this specific region, exploring the multifaceted impacts of its wind farms and their accelerated expansion. Since their early introduction in the late 1980s, wind farms have been essential in stimulating economic growth, generating thousands of jobs, and enhancing energy security by reducing dependence on imported fuels. However, environmental concerns such as wildlife disturbance, uneven distribution of economic gains, and degradation of natural and cultural landscapes threaten rural areas and communities. This visual essay explores how Galicia is tackling these challenges, investigating an energy-driven urbanization paradigm that is crucially reshaping specific territories in both rural and urban, coastal and interior, common and private, protected, or available areas in Galicia. The research delves into five specific territories, revealing ongoing conflicts, tensions, and oppositions, while speculating on their imminent expansion, in line with the COP 28 2023 requirements.
Author & Editor:
Manuel Bouzas
Advisor:
Roi Salgueiro
Program:
Architectural Politics for the Cosmos. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sponsors:
La Caixa Fellowship
Dimensions:
116 pages, 21.6x13.9 cm
