## 1 Introduction  
Renewable energy sources (RES) are considered a critical factor in the sustainable development of territories to such an extent that the future of those territories largely depends on how RES are generated and used [1; 2; 3; 4]. The increasing demand for energy, the environmental issues related to fossil fuel energy, and the social concern for sustainability bring about the necessity to study alternative energy sources. The current energy model is under question, especially when renewable energy is favored for its unlimited feature as well as its more homogenous territorial distribution and it does not generate dangerous waste. In this regard, the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and the Council confirmed the previously established goal that renewable energy reaches 20% of energy consumption of the European Union (EU) in 2020, aimed at creating a model of sustainable economic development that favors the safety of the energy supply, competitiveness, and environmental sustainability. However, it is necessary to emphasize that the analysis of the renewable energy industry in insular territories is an interesting research context. Islands could benefit from economic, social, and environmental gains by switching to renewable energy. First, large electricity systems are not efficient in small islands, because of economies of scale. Second, the population quality of life could be improved because renewable energies based on natural resources are \"infinite\" and freely available. Finally, the use of green energies is crucial to combat climate change. Nevertheless, as [PERSON] et al. [5] point out, \"Despite extensive research works being done on renewable energies, the needs to provide islands with energy alternatives for future development are only modestly discussed in various literatures.\" Islands that depend upon oil sources to generate electricity are usually non-efficient systems but they can put into value the territory natural resources--such as wind, sun, or sea--in an attempt of self-generating the power demanded by firms and citizens. The Canary Islands, the only Spanish Outermost European Region, faces the problems of insularity--far from the mainland, fragmented land, etc.--but the right orographic, geographical, and weather conditions allow them to turn those handicaps into sustainable competitiveness due to the significant potential that this archipelago has to generate renewable energy, especially wind power [1]. As [PERSON] [4] states, \"Wind power is by far the most utilized renewable energy source on islands around the world.\" In the Canary Islands, only 11,8% of the installed electrical power comes from renewable sources; 42.2% of that power comes from wind sources with approximately 52 wind farms (377 wind turbines). In this line, the use of independent energy sources is essential to achieve the most critical energy objectives in the Canary Islands: the reduction of supply vulnerability, the decrease in external energy dependence, the lowest cost of energy, and the protection and preservation of the environment [1]. Nevertheless, the wind power installed per number of inhabitants in the Canary Islands compared to other countries in the European Union with the same or less wind resource is very low. Thus, the Canary Islands had a meagre ratio of 72 W/inhabitant in 2015 [6], compared to a value higher than 490 W/inhabitant in Spain or 471 W/inhabitant in Portugal [7]. This data reveal the need for a more effective use of this kind of energy in the Canary Islands in order to adjust the available resources to the existing demand in a sustainable way. At the EU level, regions such as the Canary Islands with specific geographical characteristics have received much \"[... ] regional policy attention and their economic development is considered crucial in helping the EU to attain its important 'territorial cohesion' objective\" [8].