FEEM Event: Keynote by Natalia Fabra

On November 14, 2024, the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) organized an event in Milano and invited Natalia Fabra as Keynote Speaker. The topic of this event was: “Phasing in renewable energies, Phasing out coal: The local labour market effects”.

Natalia presented evidence on the local economic impacts of coal plant closures and renewable energy plant openings in Spain. For the coal phase-out, she examines the closure of 16 out of 21 coal power plants in a short timeframe, which has nearly eliminated coal-based power generation in the country. Her findings suggest modest effects on local employment and unemployment, with significant variation across regions. For the renewable energy phase-in, she analyzes data from over 3,900 Spanish municipalities from 2017 to 2021, when renewable energy investments occurred at different times and scales. The results show stronger employment and unemployment impacts from solar projects compared to wind, likely due to differing task and skill requirements. In addition to labor market effects, these investments have modestly boosted public spending and per capita income, with more noticeable benefits in areas with larger projects.

Slides are available here and a video of the talk is available here.