Industry, energy and local development

Under no circumstances should industrial activity be understood as an isolated enclave that operates in isolation from its surroundings. On the contrary, it acts as a key component of a broad, interconnected economic ecosystem, as the presence of an industrial plant boosts the regional economy through the continuous hiring of supplier companies, logistics services, specialized technical maintenance, engineering, security, catering and technical training services.

This multiplier capacity is well-documented in analyses of the Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros (Funcas), which show how a substantial portion of manufacturing employment directly results in the creation of jobs in the service sector. In this way, for every direct job created in the processing industry or in advanced manufacturing, multiple indirect and induced jobs are activated in the regional value chain, driving a cycle of local consumption, local trade, and a dynamic real estate market.

To illustrate this impact with real examples, it is enough to analyze the presence of the five large Repsol industrial complexes in Spain, located in Cartagena, A Coruña, Puertollano, Tarragona, and Vizcaya. The value of these facilities to their surrounding regions goes far beyond simple production or direct employment:

• Driving force for the supplier network. Around these complexes operates a stable network of local SMEs specializing in industrial maintenance, logistics, assembly, inspection and ancillary services. In poles such as Tarragona or Vizcaya, the volume of ongoing recruitment supports thousands of indirect jobs in family businesses in the area. 
• Training and technical employment opportunities. Partnerships with Vocational Training centers and regional academic institutions guarantee the teaching of technical degrees adapted to real demand, allowing new generations to access stable, highly qualified jobs without leaving their municipalities.
• Continuous investment in technological transformation. Current projects for the production of renewable fuels and hydrogen with a lower carbon footprint are attracting new investments to these complexes, strengthening their future competitiveness and contributing to the long-term maintenance of industrial employment.

Likewise, according to studies by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), sectors such as refining and energy transformation supply essential and irreplaceable inputs for strategic sectors such as the chemical industry, precision agriculture, heavy goods transport, and the manufacture of advanced materials. The industry thus generates a double impact at a national level: it provides high-skilled direct and indirect employment and ensures basic supply so that the rest of the productive sectors can maintain their global competitiveness. But what happens in the opposite case?

Although the economic decline is due to multiple global factors, the disappearance of industrial facilities erodes the demand for local services, pushes young talent away to major cities, and drastically reduces local tax revenues. This situation makes it difficult to conserve community infrastructures and basic facilties, which demonstrates the strategic importance of defending, technologically updating, and diversifying the existing productive base in the territory. But how can this be done?

In the inland provinces and in those regions marked by a low population density, large energy infrastructures represent one of the main drivers for attracting capital and productive investment. The installation of wind farms, solar photovoltaic plants, and distribution networks not only contributes to the energy transition and the reduction of CO₂ emissions, but also acts as a socio-economic catalyst for the direct geographical environment in which they are located.

To rigorously evaluate this impact, it is necessary to differentiate between two well-defined operational phases with complementary effects on the territory: 

• Construction, installation and assembly phase. It generates a high concentration of specialized temporary employment, massive demand for transportation services, machinery rental, intensive consumption in local hospitality, and extraordinary income for municipal coffers. 
• Operation, management and maintenance phase. It provides long-term technical jobs, stable and predictable income for landowners through lease agreements and a recurring route of local taxation. 

To see how energy investment results into direct benefits for rural environments, Repsol's renewable installation deployment model integrates specific local contribution mechanisms:

• Tax support for rural municipalities. The taxation associated with energy assets contributes to strengthening the revenues of small municipalities. By integrating these resources into municipal budgets, they can contribute to sustaining the provision of services and the development of local actions, such as the improvement of drinking water networks, school refurbishments, or the maintenance of rural roads.
• Generation of local activity and collaboration. Collaboration opportunities are generated for companies in the area for continuous maintenance, earthworks, security, fencing, and environmental management, ensuring that the capital invested energizes the business network of the region. 
• Socioeconomic integration. The development of projects in depopulated areas seeks to make the new facilities compatible with existing agricultural and livestock uses, maintaining traditional activity, and generating economic opportunities for landowners. In addition, these projects can contribute to promoting local initiatives related to energy efficiency or energy communities, depending on the characteristics and needs of each municipality.

In this way, the deployment of low-carbon generation facilities favors, when possible, the generation of activity and employment in the local area. 

However, there are numerous factors that influence when it comes to transforming investment into a decisive boost for the territory.