In Lorca, a neighborhood gathering in Calderón Square has gathered around a hundred people to express their rejection of the implementation of biogas plants in the municipality. The meeting, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, aimed to demand transparency and clear regulations about some projects that, according to the Stop Biogas platformThere are already several files in process and under construction.
During the event, attendees chanted slogans such as «Lorca, wake up, our land is in danger" and 'No to biogas'", denouncing bad smells, emissions, noise and truck traffic of heavy tonnage. The spokesperson, Sonia RodrÃguez, asked the City Council «clarity and security"And he maintained that his opposition is based on testimonies from other localities and on technical reports that warn of possible impacts.
The protest and the neighborhood demands
The Stop Biogas platform, active in the municipality and its outlying districts, focused the mobilization to warn about the consequences of locating these facilities near homes and sensitive areas. "We want to show our opposition before it's too late," they emphasized, underscoring the need to neighborhood participation in planning.
According to the platform, living in the vicinity of these plants could pose health risks, a claim that They attribute this to studies and previous experiencesAmong the concerns cited are the deterioration of the air, water and soil quality, as well as the impact of operating in a seismic zone like Lorca's.
One of the points that generates the most concern among the organizers is the planned construction of a large plant in the vicinity of Barranco Hondonext to the waste management center. According to their estimates, it would treat about two million cubic meters of slurry per year and would attract a daily flow of close to a hundred heavy trucks by areas of environmental value.
Neighbors like Antonio TorrecillasResidents of Torrealvilla expressed their dismay at seeing "a life project in a quiet area" disrupted and fear that, once operational, These installations may be difficult to reverseAlong the same lines, Ginés Celdrán alerted about sensitive locations, such as The Hinojar, where it cites the presence of protected species and proximity to housing and amenities.
The group maintains contacts with regional and state-level platforms to coordinate actions and has launched a collection of signatures in change.orgFurthermore, they denounce misinformation and claim they have had to resort to artificial intelligence tools to track the official bulletin and follow the trail of new cases.
Projects and institutional response
The platform maintains that the municipality operates up to a dozen initiatives, of which Four would be underway according to their count.Including the expansion of an existing plantThis situation has increased concern in outlying districts such as Torrealvilla y The Hinojar.
In turn, the Lorca City Council He recalled that in July denied the declaration of public interest to about a dozen projects and set red lines: distance from residential areas, absence of neighborhood conflict, odor and impact control and exclusive treatment of waste generated within the municipality.
Meanwhile, the local administration confirmed that Three projects have municipal authorizationwhile another obtained favorable environmental report of the Autonomous Community for its implementation in Torrealvilla, aimed at producing biogas from pig slurry and non-hazardous organic waste.
The protest received support from PSOE councilors and the spokesperson of United Left, Pedro Sosa, who conveyed his concern about the possible effects on the environment and healthStop Biogas insists that it is not about halting the energy transition, but about demanding planning and safe locations.
While the procedures continue, the residents are demanding precise location standards and guarantees to avoid authorizations by the «back door"Alluding to formulas such as 'social interest'." The common demand is clear: understandable public information, rigorous evaluations and a decision that takes into account those who live a few meters from the plants.
The mobilization raises a debate that transcends the local level: how to deploy bioenergy infrastructures without compromising the quality of life of nearby residents. In Lorca, the focus is on large-scale projects like Barranco Hondo, the progress of cases in Torrealvilla and the need for the administrations to specify clear and verifiable rules before the works go any further.
