Castile-La Mancha

Castile-La Mancha occupies Spain's central plateau, historically defined by Don Quixote's windmills and agricultural emptiness. The region remains agricultural (4.8% of GDP vs 2.7% nationally) with wine representing a dominant export, but renewable energy now transforms the landscape. Alongside Extremadura and Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha hosts nearly 60% of Spain's installed renewable capacity, converting the empty terrain that limited agricultural productivity into solar and wind farms.

The region's GDP of €50 billion (3.3% of Spain's total) reflects a mid-tier economy with per capita income below the national average. Manufacturing centers around Toledo and Ciudad Real, while the wine industry remains significant despite global consumption decline. Tourism draws visitors to Toledo's medieval heritage and La Mancha's literary landscapes. The high-speed rail connection to Madrid has improved connectivity without fully overcoming the region's interior isolation.

Population decline mirrors other interior regions, with young people migrating to Madrid and coastal cities. Yet renewable energy investment creates new employment in construction and maintenance of solar installations. The transformation follows a pattern seen across Spain's interior: agricultural regions with cheap land and abundant sun repositioning as energy producers for the national grid. Castile-La Mancha demonstrates how Don Quixote's windmills have given way to wind turbines as the defining feature of the plateau landscape.