The energy transition is driving a broader industrial shift across Asturias, reshaping the region’s manufacturing landscape with a clear focus on renewables. Local components makers are stepping into the spotlight, turning what were once volatile closures into opportunities for sustained growth. A key development involved Exiom, a solar panel producer, collaborating with Iberdrola to revive photovoltaic module production at a site once closed by Vesuvius in the Riaño area of Langreo. That facility, now under new stewardship, stands as a tangible example of how renewable energy investment can restart activity, safeguard jobs, and anchor a more resilient regional economy. Meanwhile, Windar Renovables has moved decisively to assume control of the Alu Ibérica warehouses—the former Alcoa plant at San Balandrán in the Avilés estuary. This strategic transition signals not just a change in ownership but a broader ambition to expand Asturias’ footprint in offshore wind component manufacturing.
The bankruptcy administrator appointed to Alu Ibérica awarded Windar Renovables, owned by the Avilés-based group led by Daniel Alonso, the assets of the former Alcoa aluminum factory for an estimated 20 million euros. This decision paves the way for Windar to broaden its production lines and capabilities, positioning the company to meet growing demand in offshore wind projects while reinforcing the regional industrial base. The bid underscores a clear policy signal: the region intends to convert legacy industrial facilities into modern hubs that support clean energy and high-tech manufacturing. Windar’s leadership has outlined plans to scale up its component manufacturing for offshore wind energy, leveraging its established expertise and global leadership in related facilities.
Officials describe the move as strategic for two reasons. First, it resolves the long-standing consequences of the Alcoa plant’s closure, announced in October 2018, by transforming the site into a productive asset once more. Second, it creates new employment opportunities and career pathways for local workers, helping to stabilize communities that were heavily affected by industrial downturns. Nieves Roqueñí, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Industry and Economic Development, who has guided Windar Renovables through this transition, highlighted that the project aligns seamlessly with the Government of Asturias’ priorities in ecological and industrial modernization. The result is a tangible instance of a coordinated policy effort to fuse environmental goals with economic revitalization.
Asturias has seen a pattern of renewable energy initiatives reversing prior industrial shutdowns. Earlier this year, Exiom announced a strategic alliance with Iberdrola to establish a photovoltaic manufacturing facility in Langreo. The €20 million investment is slated to create around 115 new jobs and to repurpose the historic Vesuvius plant in the Riaño industrial zone. The factory’s closure in 2019 had left 111 workers displaced and the site unused for years, making its revival a high-profile return of activity. In the current phase, Exiom and Iberdrola began renovating the former Vesuvius facility with the aim of starting solar panel production before year’s end. This project is notable as one of the first large-scale photovoltaic module plants opening in Spain, and it stands as a benchmark for industrial renewal in mining regions, demonstrating how renewable energy can drive broader economic revitalization.
Proponents emphasize that the project also signals a broader shift in Spain’s renewable industry, illustrating how collaboration between manufacturing and energy utilities can unlock idle capacity and deliver regional benefits. The Langreo site, along with the Avilés facility, is poised to play a pivotal role in Spain’s transition strategy toward cleaner energy sources, providing a model for other regions with legacy industrial bases. The trajectory suggests a future where former closed plants are reactivated as modern engines of jobs, training, and sustainable production, reinforcing the idea that a greener economy can coexist with robust industrial activity. The closures at Vesuvius in Langreo and Alcoa in Avilés, which once sparked significant local concern and protest, now contrast with renewed confidence as two Asturian companies forge ahead in the new renewable landscape, reviving factories and infusing them with renewed purpose.