In the summer of 2023 Almansa’s neighbors began to notice a bad smell of which they soon discovered the origin. After the restart of the activity of an organic fertilizer factory, there was a larger biogas project where 320,000 tons of organic waste wanted to be treated. At that moment he started Stop Biogás Almansa, a neighborhood platform that after investigating the project, failures and permits; Present allegations, and manifest again and again to protest, has managed to stop the project. “Although the company has resorted and we are aware of what will happen,” says Virgilio Martínez, industrial technical engineer and spokesman for Biogas.
The engineer helps neighbors from other locations concerned with biogas projects. And it is that the protests against these facilities extend through Murcia, Castilla y León, Extremadura or the Valencia Community. A few hours after the Alliance for the development of biogas and biomethane that supposes 50 projects in Andalusia (23 in Jaén), Ecologists in Jaén’s action alerted the “problem that can be generated in the province, especially on its population, with the installation of a large number of macroplants, which is not planning either in dimensions or its location in the territory.”
Biogas is obtained through a process called anaerobic digestion, «in which microorganisms decompose organic matter in the absence of oxygen. This process generates a gaseous mixture composed mainly of methane and carbon dioxide. It can be used directly for the generation of electricity and heat by means of cogeneration engines, such as biocarbashes for vehicles or for industrial applications with thermal demand. If you undergo a purification process to eliminate impurities, biomethane is obtained, a gas with a composition similar to natural gas that can be injected into the network for use in homes and industries. It is also an alternative for the transport sector, especially in trucks and buses, ”recalls Luis Puchades, president of the Spanish Biogás Association (AEBIG).
The advantage of biogas, and hence its interest, is that it allows a second life to waste that today ends up in landfill; From domestic to industrialists or those from agriculture, livestock and treatment plants. Another benefit is that it can be used to produce our own renewable gas without having to import natural gas from third countries (such as Russia, Algeria, USA). In fact, The European Commission aspires to produce 35,000 million m3 (BCM) for 2030 from Biomethane and cover up to two thirds of the European gas demand in 2050. «It is a renewable energy that deserved the attention it is having. Basically, until now, the development of biogas in Spain has revolved around the treatment plants and urban solid waste plants, where the gas generated to feed the plant itself is used. But there is a lot of potential to produce gas. This explains the project boom, which in turn are generating problems with the locations and proposed sizes, ”says Antoni Sánchez, professor of the Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Without exploiting potential
To understand the potential of Spain, it is enough to say that it is the second EU country in agricultural extension, with more than 25 million hectares of surface used and leads the production of olive oil, wine, pork or chicken. However, There are only about 250 biogas plants and 11 operational biomethane plants Throughout the country, a small figure if we take into account the more than 1,500 active plants in Europe. Germany is the one who leads the combined production of biomethane and biogas; In 2023 with 100 TWH, followed by Italy (33 twh), United Kingdom (29 twh) and France (17 TWH). The biomethane represents 6.7% of the total natural gas consumption in the EU, according to the Sedigás association data. Right now There are more than 150 biomethane projects on the Peninsula, In Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, Valencian Community, Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid, Andalusia and Aragon.
«Its development faces challenges such as Lack of clear economic and regulatory incentives that foster their implementation. In Germany, Italy or France, there are regulated rates and specific aids. Another obstacle is bureaucracy and long processing deadlines for project authorization, which slows the investment. In addition, there are difficulties in connecting plants to the natural gas network, ”says Luis Purchades that also mentions that the social rejection that is being generated is due“ in large part, to the misinformation and the erroneous perception of generating problems Environmental The main concerns of citizenship are usually related to odors, visual impact and truck traffic that transport waste. However, there are technical and management solutions that minimize these inconveniences ».
Dimension the plants
Is the biogas living the same reply phenomenon that other renewables such as photovoltaic and wind have seen? For Vrigilio Márquez, the problem of biogas is a matter of size. «I am not an environmental, but a simple neighbor who wants to live quietly and that my children can also do it. In Spain we have a serious problems with waste and European regulations require us to start managing them in another way so that they do not end up in landfill. Creating biogas is great. The problem is that in Spain it is governed by extinguishing fires and after a lot of years without any waste management policy, now that Europe demands it, a lot of licenses have been granted to large investors that tell you that they will solve the problem generating Biogas. The point is that as they have to make investments project huge plants, up to 500,000 tons, but to reach those amounts they have to bring residues from other regions. What circular economy is having to transport waste at 400 kilometers? If I ask me as a technician, I tell you that everything that passes from 40,000 tons already seems great. It is true that the problem exists, but you have to solve it well, planning the places and sizes of the facilities and inspecting the projects, ”he says.