LOOKING out across miles of mountain terrain, the rugged landscape is punctuated in every direction as far as the eye can see by wind turbines... A nightmare scenario for many in Scotland, who see the structures as unsightly scars on the pristine countryside, in Spain it is already a reality in one region which has seen a renewable energy industry spring up in a decade - with little or no opposition.

With Scotland, particularly the Highlands and Islands, increasingly targeted for wind farm development, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is studying the Navarre model to see what lessons can be learned. A delegation visited Spain last week and it is planned to set up long-term links between the two areas. Highland Council is set to launch a consultation on a draft renewables strategy and planning guidelines to guide developers and communities.

Navarre sits near the French border and was previously best known for the annual bull running festival in the capital, Pamplona. Now it is increasingly gaining a reputation for the development of alternative energy. In the last ten years, 31 farms with a total of 1,100 turbines have been erected in 16 locations, while the region also has 111 mini hydro stations, as well as biomass and solar photovoltaic plants.

The development of renewables in Scotland is stuttering through the planning system, with no overall policy outlined by the Scottish Executive and a fierce opposition lobby concerned that the spread of turbines will spoil the landscape, harm tourism and wildlife and create few jobs.

By comparison, the development of an entire industry has had a trouble-free ride in Navarre with communities seemingly willing to endure some aesthetic pain for economic gain.

More than 2,000 people are now employed in renewables in the region and, to support the burgeoning sector, Pamplona has set up factories, an international research facility developing not just wind power technology but wave, solar, biomass, biodiesel and hydrogen systems, and a vocational training centre turning out engineers and technicians for the industry. Small rural communities have also seized the chance to take the developers' money to provide local services and build new civic facilities.

Like its neighbour, the Basque Country, Navarre is an autonomous community which raises its own taxes. Big employers such as Volkswagen are now not far ahead of renewables in terms of employment and economic activity. After years of research, the regional government devised an energy plan in 1995 to develop renewables. Firms were offered tax incentives to invest in wind power and encouraged to develop manufacturing bases to ensure jobs were created locally. Turbines were kept away from more tourism- orientated areas nearer the Pyrenees but other areas considered less scenic were opened up for development.

The first wind farm was built in 1996 at El Perdn, nine miles from Pamplona and deliberately sited to be clearly visible from the city. In the same year, a survey showed 81 per cent of people supported renewables with just 3 per cent against.

According to the Navarre government, more than GBP 230 million has since been spent on renewables, with nearly two million tonnes of carbon emissions avoided in one year alone. Renewable energy presently meets 75 per cent of the electricity needs of Navarre, which has a population of about 580,000, and it is hoped to reach 100 per cent within five years.

Santi Gmez, a spokesman for EHN, one of the biggest developers, says: "We are proud of what we are doing, we don't have to hide anything. We think this is good for people in global terms, but also locally. In Spain we have a very favourable legal framework to support renewables and that's why we are now the second biggest country in the world in terms of installed capacity." He insists tourism has not been affected and there is no evidence that bird strikes, estimated to be 1 to 2 per 1,000, have resulted in bird populations leaving the area.

The acceptance of renewables is typified by Jose Manuel Urrizelki, mayor of Aorbe, a town of 500 residents. In a reversal of Nimbyism, he was determined the windfall should go to his residents, not elsewhere: "Rather than saying 'not in my back yard', I say 'not in someone else's back yard'."

Funds provided by windfarm companies now make up 15 to 20 per cent of the town's annual income. A new civic centre and arts facility have been built while the money is also used for education, social services and care for the elderly.

Jose Romn Gmez, secretary of a council which represents 13 villages, some of which previously had no running water or refuse collection, says when EHN first proposed 20 turbines in the area the council insisted it should be at least 100. They now take in E300,000 a year from windfarm companies.

As well as paying for basic services, a third of the money is used for environmental schemes, including forest clear-ups and truffle and mushroom harvesting projects. A community company now employs 12 people, youngsters are returning, the population has risen from 80 to 200 and tourism is healthy.

Under a complex payment scheme, landowners are paid by developers for the use of their land but retain ownership. They then pay a rent to the local authority: "Everyone is a winner," says Gmez.

But is it a price worth paying? "While people consume energy, yes it is. In parts of Spain there was strong opposition but in the end that did not succeed. This is because in areas like this there were real needs which the administrations could not satisfy. I am convinced that if it were not for the windfarms we would no have some of the communities now."

Claire Maclean, senior development manager with HIE's renewable team, says: "Navarre has fully embraced renewable energy and successfully created an industry with a strong manufacturing base and a focus on research and development and training. With the right approach, it is exactly the kind of model we would like to see emerge in Highlands and Islands."

But Bill Band, national strategy manager for Scottish Natural Heritage, feels there could be difficulties trying to replicate the Navarre model in the Highlands.

He says: "In Spain, not just Navarre, there have been very few planning problems and that is a reflection of a very different country in terms of density of population and spaciousness of the landscape. There are extensive areas of unsettled landscape which do not have the problem of coming up against settlements as you have in many parts of the Highlands."