[EN] Wind energy has rapidly developed in the last decades, generating economic impacts at
di erent territorial scales and contributing to rural development. However, few research works have
analysed its economic impact at a local scale, especially in rural areas. Galicia is a Spanish region
in which 3300 MW of wind energy have been installed in rural municipalities with low levels of
socioeconomic activity and important socio-environmental problems. In this sense, the objective
of this work is to analyse the local revenues directly derived from wind power activity in relation
to changes in the regulatory framework (1995–2017), as well as to quantify those revenues for
the year 2017. For this purpose, information has been systematically collected from secondary
sources and complemented with 10 years of field and monitoring work on site at the wind farms.
This article reveals the relationship between the regulatory framework and the main sources of income
associated with wind power generation (conventional and specific taxes, municipal ownership, and
other revenues). In 2017, these revenues amounted to 17.8 million euros. This work discusses
how the public policies implemented during the analysed time period limited the direct economic
impacts of the installation of wind farms on Galician rural municipalities, and consequently hindered
rural development.S
