Climate goals and energy sovereignty usually headline discussions around renewables. But for the small villages and rural communities hosting these projects, the story is far more personal. From fresh income streams to stronger farms, this is how solar and wind power are quietly transforming life in the European countryside.
Alberto Vela reports.
Not long ago, the location of coal mines or oil wells sealed a region’s fate. Today, any area with strong winds, sunny fields, or open landscapes can become a clean energy powerhouse. And in Europe, that often means the countryside.
Rural regions already host the majority of renewable energy: 72% of EU renewable electricity is generated there. Looking ahead, this trend will only grow – almost 80% of the suitable land for new solar and wind projects (excluding protected nature and high-value farmland) lies in rural areas.
This leadership role brings opportunity, but also tension. From Italy to Estonia, opposition movements capitalise on unfounded fears but also genuine concerns. Where do the profits go? Are renewables replacing traditional livelihoods?
Beyond the big-picture benefits, it is crucial that renewables also bring tangible gains to the communities that host them. Across Europe, many villages are already showing how this can be done.
1. Tax revenue: better public services
Solar and wind farms bring direct income to municipalities through taxes. For remote or low-income communities, this steady revenue stream can make a big difference by funding essential services, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.
In Spain, the small town of Hornillos de Cerrato used wind farm taxes to subsidise electricity, launch a high-speed internet programme, and fund a taxi service to bring elderly residents to the doctor. For this windy Castilian plateau village, 40 turbines now contribute 60% of the annual municipal budget – a game-changer for local services.
In Finland, property tax revenues from renewables are a major source of local finance. In 2024, dozens of municipalities saw over 20% of their property tax revenue generated by wind and solar farms. In the remote village of Simo, that figure reached a staggering 69%, enabling the construction of a new school.
2. Jobs: attracting life back to villages
The decentralised nature of renewables means they do not require as many permanent on-site jobs as fossil fuel industries once did. But the steady income from renewables projects and competitive energy prices can revitalise rural economies, attracting new residents and investments.
Hornillos de Cerrato shows the impact clearly. Like many villages in the region, its population had been in steady decline. But with new revenues from the wind turbines helping diversify the local economy, the trend has reversed: the village has grown from 110 residents in 2015 to 175 in 2023.
Sprakebüll, a farming village near Germany’s border with Denmark, was once on the brink of decline. But thanks to citizen-owned wind parks, the community is now reaping roughly €400,000 annually in tax income, which has funded a playground, bike paths, a shared electric car, and even piano lessons for local kids. A new grocery store, café, and restaurant have opened – signs of new purchasing power in the community.
Recycling renewable revenues back into the local economy rather than letting profits flow out is critical. This can take the form of different policies – through local ownership, tax-sharing, or compensation schemes.
3. Agrivoltaics: boosting farms
A common fear in rural areas is that solar panels will displace farming, changing the rural way of life. But agrivoltaics, combining agriculture and solar, show they can thrive side by side. By raising solar panels above fields or grazing land, farmers get a second income stream while crops can benefit from shade and reduced heat stress.
In southern Germany, researchers found that celery grown under PV structures saw up to 12% higher yields, thanks to reduced heat stress and better soil moisture. The panels also generated energy without displacing farming, boosting land-use efficiency by over 160%.
Not only cereals and vegetables, solar panels can replace plastic shelters in providing stable shade for fruit and protection from ever-increasing extreme weather. The Dutch berry farmer Maarten van Hoof covered his raspberry crops with 24,000 solar modules, providing enough clean power for over 2,800 homes while maintaining full crop production.
Even animal farming fits in. In Belgium’s Wallonia, the Calcaires de Florennes Agri‑PV site combines solar energy with sheep grazing, biodiversity hedgerows, and local electricity supply. It demonstrates how livestock farmers can continue using land productively while benefiting from a new energy income.
4. Energy communities: driving social cohesion
If there is a model that ensures the benefits stay local, it is energy cooperatives. Run by residents, for residents, these communities give people agency, strengthen social bonds, and support local businesses.
In Križevci, a Croatian town of 20,000, 127 citizen investors raised €140,000 in just ten days to fund the country’s first citizen-owned solar plant. The ZEZ cooperative returns 3% per year to members and reinvests profits into a community fund to combat energy poverty and support green local initiatives.
Wildpoldsried, Germany’s pioneering ‘renewables village’, produces five times more energy than it consumes through wind, solar, biogas, and hydropower. Cooperative members, together with the local administration, have used the surplus income to fund a school, a gym, flood defences, and more, all without taking on debt.
5. Resilience: future-proof villages
Rural areas are on the frontline of crises, from droughts and floods to energy price shocks. Local renewables can help them bounce back and plan ahead by funding climate adaptation measures and safeguarding residents from volatile fossil fuel markets.
In Scotland, profits from three community-owned wind turbines in the Outer Hebrides are funding the planting of over one million native trees across vacant crofts. This land restoration strengthens ecosystem resilience and reinvigorates local land use.
What it takes: conditions for success
For rural communities to reap these benefits, a few key conditions need to be in place. Villages often need new governance structures to manage projects, or strong and knowledgeable local administrations able to negotiate fair deals. Trust and openness within the community are equally important: renewable projects tend to thrive where residents feel they have a say and see tangible local gains.
Natural endowments also play a role: the wide-open plateaus of Castile or the windswept fields of Lapland have clear advantages over less resource-rich regions. But equally decisive is how projects are designed: whether benefits are shared locally, whether farmers can continue to use their land, and whether revenues flow back into lower bills, better infrastructures, and public services.
When these pieces come together, the impact can be transformative. Renewables can revive public services, draw young people home, boost harvests, and build resilience against an uncertain future. In short, they can be the right investment to keep villages alive.
