The energy company Moeve has presented its program "Hacemos Futuro" at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, a strategy for territorial commitment that seeks to articulate public-private collaboration as a development instrument in the Spanish rural environment, with special attention to the role that renewable energy projects can play in the economic and social revitalization of the territories that host them. The event, organized in collaboration with the magazine Ethic, brought together institutional representatives, companies, social organizations, and agents linked to rural development, and was closed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas.
The "Hacemos Futuro" program is framed within what Moeve calls its "Social License" strategy, an approach based on the premise that the deployment of renewable energy infrastructures in the territory must be accompanied by a process of listening, dialogue, and generation of shared value with local communities. The company understands that without the involvement of municipalities and territorial agents, the energy transition runs the risk of generating rejection instead of opportunities.
The meeting opened with an overview of the current state of the Spanish rural world elaborated from the data of the Secretary of State for Demographic Challenge. According to these records, since 2018 populations of less than 500 inhabitants have experienced a sustained demographic upturn, with 118,000 new inhabitants accumulated, an increase led by young people and women that results in a positive migration balance for the seventh consecutive year. Economically, rural employment grew by 4.9% in the period between 2021 and 2023, a figure that points to a progressive improvement in activity conditions in smaller municipalities.
The V Study "Perception of Advances in Rural Spain", prepared by Next Education, complemented this vision with qualitative data. According to this report, 51% of the rural population is already aware of some entrepreneurial initiative in the agri-food or tourism sector that has generated employment in their environment, a figure that reflects greater visibility of productive projects in small municipalities. However, the same study reveals that 63% of respondents identify institutional discoordination as the main obstacle to rural development, a perception that highlights the difficulties territories face in effectively channeling public policies.
Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Moeve, participated in a conversation with sociologist and political scientist Cristina Monge and the president of the Economic and Social Council, Antón Costas, in which the role of companies as agents of investment, employment, and innovation in the territory, as well as their responsibility in promoting a fair energy transition, was addressed. Wetselaar noted that "it is necessary to seek new dialogue formulas that provide trust to the parties and contribute to generating shared value for rural development." The head of the energy company linked this need to the current geopolitical context, considering that the energy transition acquires a strategic sense that transcends the environmental and becomes "the best shield to strengthen Europe's energy security."
Carlos Barrasa, director of New Energies at Moeve, and Marta Ares, director of the Spanish Network for Sustainable Development (REDS), delved into the potential of the energy transition as a lever for territorial revitalization. Barrasa stated that "at Moeve we believe that the energy transition is a team effort and that collaboration is the basis for new projects that generate a positive impact in the rural environment, through listening and dialogue with the territory."
One of the debate tables, moderated by Jorge Barrero, general director of the COTEC Foundation, analyzed how the policies designed in Brussels can be successfully applied on the ground. Frances Boya, Secretary General for the Demographic Challenge; Diego Canga, Deputy General Director of the DG AGRI of the European Commission; Joan Herrera, General Director of SAMSO, and Mercedes Molina, Emeritus Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, participated. The speakers agreed in pointing out that European policies, innovation, and cross-cutting cooperation are necessary elements for territorial cohesion and equality of opportunities in rural municipalities.
A second panel brought together Juanjo Manzano, director of AlmaNatura; Carmen Quintanilla, president of Afammer; Tania Solans, president of the Commission of Municipalities of Smaller Population of the FEMP; Francisco Javier Sánchez, president of REDEX, and Juan Diego Requena, congressman for Jaén. The debate focused on the need to understand the different realities of young people and the elderly in the rural environment to generate opportunities for entrepreneurship, rooting, and social cohesion adapted to each context.
Minister Luis Planas closed the day by stating that the rural world constitutes "a fundamental pillar to advance towards a more sustainable, competitive, and territorially balanced economic and social model." Planas affirmed that "the major ongoing transitions, energy, technological, and productive, represent an opportunity for economic development in rural areas, attract young talent, and promote entrepreneurship," and highlighted the importance of the agri-food sector for territorial cohesion, while recalling the government's commitment to generational transition as a strategic priority to ensure the future of the rural environment.
Within the framework of the "Hacemos Futuro" program, Moeve also presented the initiative "Caminos de Futuro", a project that makes visible routes in different parts of Spain in order to value the natural, historical, cultural, and social heritage of the territories and promote rural tourism and local economic activity. The first five itineraries have been launched in Calamocha (Teruel), Cumbres Mayores (Huelva), Anaga (Tenerife), Navas de Oro (Segovia), and Valle de Arán (Lleida). The company has developed a six-month prior process of listening and co-creation with each of these localities before designing the routes. Moeve has enabled a website that collects the heritage of these itineraries and the places to visit, and will collaborate with the municipalities in the tourism promotion of the paths through a communication campaign in media and social networks that will include information about nearby rural establishments and restaurants.
The event held in Madrid highlighted that dialogue between administrations, companies, and local communities is configured as a determining factor for the deployment of renewable energies to translate into tangible benefits for the rural environment, at a time when the sector is expanding its presence in low population density municipalities throughout Spain. The predominant perception of institutional discoordination revealed by surveys contrasts with the positive data of demographic upturn and employment growth, suggesting that, despite advances, there are still shortcomings in the articulation of territorial development policies that initiatives like the one presented by Moeve aspire to contribute to correcting from the business sector.