The Talavera de la Reina City Council has taken a firm step to halt the installation of biomethane plants within its municipal boundaries. In an extraordinary plenary session held this Wednesday, the three political groups with municipal representation (PP, Vox, and PSOE) unanimously approved a motion seeking to modify the Municipal Planning Plan (POM) and provisionally suspend licenses for these types of facilities. The session, which lasted more than two hours, was marked by intense debate and the presence of approximately 200 residents who gathered outside the City Hall to demonstrate their opposition to these projects.
The initiative, presented by the Socialist Municipal Group, passed with an amendment from the governing coalition (PP-Vox) that broadens the scope of the agreement. Among the approved measures is a request to the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha to modify Order 4/2020 and establish a minimum distance of five kilometers between any biomethane plant and urban areas. It was also agreed to file an appeal against the integrated environmental authorization granted on July 24th to the Montearagón Bioenergy project, arguing that it infringes upon local autonomy.
An agreement with nuances and a cross of accusations
Despite the unanimous vote, the debate was not without tension. The Councilor for Urban Planning, Benedicto GarcÃa, defended the government team's actions and reminded everyone that the process to modify the General Urban Development Plan (POM) and suspend licenses had already begun on August 7th. GarcÃa described the plenary session as "utterly redundant" and criticized the fact that convening it would represent "an unnecessary expense" for the municipal coffers. However, the Socialist spokesperson, José Gutiérrez, countered that the decision made by the Governing Board "had no merit," since the solution had been proposed by his group on July 23rd.
Vox spokesperson David Moreno went further, blaming the PSOE for the origin of the problem. According to Moreno, the previous municipal government, led by Tita GarcÃa, offered Talavera as an "ideal location" for these facilities in 2019 and facilitated the necessary urban planning changes in 2020. "Page's PSOE has created a pull factor for investment funds to build their biomethane plants in Castilla-La Mancha," he asserted. Gutiérrez categorically rejected these accusations, stating that "my obsession is with biomethane plants because nobody cares about what happened seven years ago."
Specific measures and next steps
The approved agreement includes several action points. First, administrative procedures will begin to amend the Municipal Planning Ordinance (POM) to include biogas production from organic waste on any type of land in the list of prohibited uses. Second, the granting of integrated urban planning licenses, both for new construction and for existing operations, for these types of plants will be suspended. This suspension will initially be in effect for one year, renewable according to the Planning Regulations of Castilla-La Mancha.
At the regional level, the City Council has agreed to urge the Regional Government to amend Order 4/2020 of the Ministry of Public Works. The proposal seeks to adjust the criteria for minimum surface area, occupancy, and permitted uses on rural land to prevent the location of biomethane plants within five kilometers of any urban or developable land. This measure, as explained by the spokesperson for the governing team, Jesús GarcÃa-Barroso, aims to "provide municipalities with a legal shield" and prevent such projects from being established near populated areas.
Another important agreement is the filing of an appeal against the Resolution of the Directorate General for Environmental Quality, dated July 24, 2026, which granted the Integrated Environmental Authorization (AAI-TO-496) to the "Biomethane and Fertilizer Plant" project of Montearagón Bioenergy. The City Council argues that this resolution is unlawful, as it violates the principle of local autonomy guaranteed by Articles 137 and 140 of the Spanish Constitution , the Law Regulating the Bases of Local Government, and the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
Reactions and context
The citizens' platform against biomethane, which brings together neighborhood associations and social groups from Talavera and the surrounding area, has celebrated the outcome of the vote. Fidel Cordero, one of its spokespeople, explained to the media the potential effects that, in his opinion, the arrival of the waste would have on the population: foul odors, depreciation of homes, and risks of contamination of surface and groundwater. "We have been fighting against this for months, and today it has been shown that unity is strength," he stated.
The conflict dates back to November 2023, when representatives of the municipal government met with a company in the sector interested in locating a facility in the city. The company had initially proposed its project in Montearagón, but the proposal was rejected by that municipality. Subsequently, in October 2024, the company decided to invest in Talavera. Since then, the project's progress has provoked growing opposition to biogas plants , culminating in the submission of more than 15.000 objections to the 2024-2030 Regional Biomethanization Plan, which envisions the development of approximately 100 plants in Castilla-La Mancha, between 7 and 10 of them in the Talavera region.
The Socialist spokesperson, José Gutiérrez, welcomed the agreement and urged the governing team to "accelerate the modification of the Municipal Development Plan" to avoid future problems. "We are doing what is required of us, not boasting," he stated, while also calling for following Albacete's example to modify the plan "swiftly and not wait until Christmas." For his part, the spokesperson for the governing team, Jesús GarcÃa-Barroso, expressed satisfaction with the willingness to collaborate shown by all the groups and hopes that "it will be a reality and not just empty words."
With this agreement, Talavera becomes one of the first municipalities in Castilla-La Mancha to adopt decisive measures against the installation of biomethane plants. The unanimous decision sends a clear message to both the regional government and companies in the sector: the protection of residents and the urban environment takes precedence over any economic interest . It remains to be seen how the regional administration will respond to the request to modify the regulations and whether the appeal will be successful, but what is clear is that the city has taken a decisive step in this battle.
