CASTILLA LA MANCHA - MOLINOS DE CONSUEGRA

A windmill is a machine that converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails. Originally, windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history, the windmill machinery was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important non-milling use is to pump water, either for land drainage or to extract groundwater.

Toledo is a province of central Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Badajoz, Cáceres, and Ávila.

Of the province's 546,538 people (2002), only about 1/9 live in the capital, Toledo, which is also capital of the autonomous community. The most populated city in the province is Talavera de la Reina with 83,793 inhabitants (2006).

The province contains 204 municipalities. The smallest municipality in Spain, Illán de Vacas, with a population of 8, is in Toledo province. See List of municipalities in Toledo.

The province shares the Parque Nacional de Cabañeros with Ciudad Real province.

Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union . It is located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. The border with Spain (1,214 km long) is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.

The List of windmills is a link page for any windmill or windpump.

A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.

This rotating cap on a firm masonry base gave tower mills great advantages over earlier post mills, as they could stand much higher, bear larger sails, and thus afford greater reach into the wind. Windmills in general had been known to civilization for centuries, but the tower mill represented an improvement on traditional western-style windmills. The tower mill was an important source of power for Europe and the Mediterranean for nearly 600 years from 1300–1900, contributing to 25 percent of the industrial power of all wind machines before the advent of the steam engine and coal power. It represented a modification or a demonstration of improving and adapting technology that had been known by humans for ages. Although these types of mills were effective, owing to their complexity, some argue that they would have initially been built mainly by the most wealthy individuals.

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.

Large wind farms consist of hundreds of individual wind turbines which are connected to the electric power transmission network. Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land, and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher. Small onshore wind farms provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy surplus electricity produced by small domestic wind turbines.

Wind power, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and uses little land. The effects on the environment are generally less problematic than those from other power sources. As of 2011, Denmark is generating more than a quarter of its electricity from wind and 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis. In 2010 wind energy production was over 2.5% of total worldwide electricity usage, and growing rapidly at more than 25% per annum. The monetary cost per unit of energy produced is similar to the cost for new coal and natural gas installations.

Consuegra is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. In 2009 the municipality had a population of 10,932 inhabitants. It is 80 km from Ciudad Real and 60 km from Toledo.

The principal economy sector is agriculture. The industry is predominated by textile and wood. The castle and the windmills are Consuegra's most important monuments.

Most Spanish windmills, like those described in Cervantes's Don Quixote, can be found in the province of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. The best examples of restored Spanish windmills may be found in Consuegra where several mills spike the hill just outside of town, giving us a spectacular view of the 12th century castle and of the town. The castle was once a stronghold when Consuegra was the seat and priory of the Knights of San Juan, the Spanish branch of the Knight's Hospitallers of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Windmills are also located in Mota del Cuervo, Tomelloso, and Campo de Criptana.