Biomethane has become one of the great hopes for decarbonizing sectors where electrification has not yet reached, such as heavy transport, industry, and heating. In Spain, the potential for producing this key renewable gas for the energy transition is enormous, but the reality is that the country has barely twenty operational plants , far fewer than the hundreds already functioning in countries like France or Germany. Meanwhile, the European Union already has more than 1.700 biomethane facilities and plans to add more than 1.200 in the next five years, with investments of around €36.000 billion.
However, the development of this industry in Spain has not been without its challenges. Administrative delays are compounded by growing public opposition in numerous municipalities , where residents fear the odors, truck traffic, and potential contamination of aquifers. Citizen platforms, city councils, and even political parties have imposed conditions or outright opposed the installation of large-scale plants, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty that is hindering investment and delaying the energy transition.
Castilla-La Mancha, an example of potential and obstacles
One of the regions with the greatest capacity for biomethane production is Castilla-La Mancha. According to its Regional Biomethanization Plan, the autonomous community could generate up to 8,1 TWh of biomethane annually and has 15,7 million tons of usable organic matter from agriculture, livestock farming, and the agro-industry. The Spanish Association for Biocircularity (Biocirc) has presented its proposals for the future of biomethane in Castilla-La Mancha , which will regulate this activity, calling for a "bold" regulation that offers legal certainty and streamlines procedures.
Biocirc argues that biomethane can be a solution to two endemic problems in the region: nitrate pollution and livestock manure management. By transforming waste into energy and organic fertilizers, the direct application of slurry to the soil is reduced, and seepage into aquifers is prevented. The association is calling for a one-stop shop for processing projects and clear deadlines for resolving applications, avoiding duplication of procedures already covered by the Integrated Environmental Authorization.
Social opposition is spreading throughout Spain
While government agencies and businesses see biomethane as an industrial and environmental opportunity, residents of many municipalities are not so sure. In Andalusia, the second region with the greatest production potential, more than 48 projects are currently under review , but they face local resistance against large-scale biogas plants and concerns raised by municipalities regarding potential health and environmental impacts. In Baena (Córdoba), the mayor has announced that she will use all legal means to prevent the construction of a plant, while in Cabra, a three-year moratorium on urban development has been approved.
In Extremadura, the proposed large-scale plant in Plasencia has sparked strong opposition. Nearly a hundred residents met to organize objections and create a platform to oppose the project. The City Council, for its part, has issued a technical report deeming the plant inadmissible due to its incompatibility with the protected land , which could definitively halt the initiative. In Torrejoncillo del Rey (Cuenca), the main concern is water quality: municipal analyses show 85 milligrams of nitrates per liter, well above the legal limit of 50, and residents fear that biomethane plants will exacerbate the problem.
Even political groups like Nosotros Talavera have conditioned their support on the plants only processing waste from the region itself , to prevent the area from becoming an organic waste dump for other regions. The demand for transparency regarding the origin of the waste, the volume of trucks, and the destination of the digestate is a constant theme in all the protests.
Slow procedures and lack of legal certainty
Besides social rejection, the main obstacle to the takeoff of biomethane in Spain is the slow pace of the bureaucratic process. According to industry associations, obtaining all the necessary permits can take between three and five years , a timeframe that discourages investors and slows down the commissioning of new biogas plants in Spain . The Cordoba Business Confederation has called for "seriousness" from local councils and has asked them not to be swayed by electoral calculations when processing these projects.
Sedigas, the association representing gas companies, has drawn up a ten-point code of best practices to improve public acceptance and ensure transparency. It has also called for greater coordination between government agencies to prevent projects from having to go through multiple approval processes with disparate criteria. The industry points out that there are already more than 1.700 biomethane plants operating in the European Union and that Spain, with its enormous agricultural and livestock potential, cannot afford to fall behind.
The upcoming decree from Castilla-La Mancha, as well as the regulations being prepared by other regions, will be key in determining whether biomethane takes off or remains just an unfulfilled promise. According to experts, the key lies in finding a balance between industrial development, environmental protection, and public acceptance.
Biomethane represents a real opportunity to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, valorize waste, and generate employment in rural areas, but its implementation faces a cocktail of local mistrust, bureaucratic hurdles, and a lack of a clear regulatory framework. While France, Germany, and other European countries have hundreds of plants, Spain is still taking its first steps with barely twenty facilities. The question is whether the country will be able to overcome these obstacles and take advantage of a resource that, according to all studies, has great potential.
