The controversy surrounding the biogas plant planned for the La Atalaya neighborhoodIn the Gran Canaria municipality of Santa MarÃa de GuÃa, it continues to grow and consolidate itself as one of the environmental and neighborhood conflicts most relevant in the northern part of Gran Canaria. In addition to the residents' social concerns, new institutional allegations have now been raised, focusing on the lack of a joint environmental assessment and the proximity of the facilities to densely populated areas.
In parallel, Citizen opposition has organized itself around the Stop Biogas Plant Platform in La Atalayawhich has moved from street protests to legal action. Neighborhood assemblies, formal objections, and public debate have led to a more complex scenario, in which administrative decisions and the courts will play a decisive role in the project's future, as other examples show. similar mobilizations in Spain.
A project linked to a hybrid plant near Gáldar
The core of the conflict revolves around the treatment and valorization plant for agricultural waste intended to produce biogas and compost in La Atalaya, which serves as a functional base for a 499 kW hybrid (cogeneration-wind) generation facility promoted by the company Conagrican, SL. This hybrid plant is planned in the municipality of Santa MarÃa de GuÃa, but very close to the border with Gáldar; cases such as those of other companies that are developing plants show the technical and social complexity of these initiatives, for example the one that advances in La Sentiu de Sió.
As he has reiterated Gáldar City CouncilThe hybrid generation facility would be located approximately 800 meters from its municipal boundary, with direct impact on areas such as Caleta de Arriba and the town center of Gáldar itselfThis proximity means that the City Council considers itself clearly affected and, therefore, entitled to be consulted and heard throughout the authorization process, a right that has been asserted even through binding consultations in other municipalities.
The biogas project in La Atalaya is not presented in isolation, but as part of a industrial complex that combines agricultural waste treatment, biogas production, composting and energy generation through cogeneration and wind power. This interdependence between facilities is precisely one of the central arguments of the municipal claims, which demand a comprehensive, rather than fragmented, assessment—a debate present in the analyses on Biogas plants in Spain.
Among the concerns shared by the administrations of Gáldar and Santa MarÃa de GuÃa is the fact that The plant is planned to be located a short distance from inhabited areas.with a school about 500 meters from the planned location. This fact fuels the debate about the suitability of the chosen site and the need to strengthen health and environmental safeguards, as happened in other projects that were ultimately abandoned due to social and environmental pressure, for example in Cantabria.
Absence of hearing process and integrated environmental assessment
The Gáldar City Council has reiterated in several documents that It was not included in the Environmental Assessment process of the basic biogas project nor of the subsequent hybrid plant linked to it. Despite being an administration directly affected by the proximity of the infrastructure, it was allegedly not granted the required hearing, something the City Council considers contrary to current legislation; in other municipalities, administrative measures such as the temporary suspension of licenses have been adopted, as in Goat.
In October of 2025, Gáldar had already filed objections against the biogas plant in La Atalayaquestioning its environmental, health, and territorial impact. However, the City Council itself reports that these allegations remain unanswered by the regional government, while a new permit is now being sought for the hybrid plant, which relies precisely on that initial infrastructure.
The City Council maintains that this method of processing the file, with separate authorizations for parts of the same industrial system, may to violate the principles of good administration, legal certainty and integrated environmental assessmentIn his view, fragmenting the project prevents a realistic analysis of the cumulative effects and synergies between the different facilities, a criticism similar to that expressed in the controversy over the large-scale plant planned in Huesca.
Gáldar demands to be expressly recognized as administration affected and interested in the procedureAs established by regulations when a project may have a direct impact on the territory and population of a neighboring municipality, Mayor Teodoro Sosa has signed the documents demanding that these shortcomings in institutional participation be addressed, calling for participatory mechanisms similar to those included in debates on [the topic]. popular consultations.
Furthermore, the City Council insists that A joint and comprehensive assessment of all impacts has not been carried out. Derivatives from the biogas plant, composting, and hybrid energy generation, which, in their view, limits transparency and public oversight of an activity with potentially significant effects for the region. This demand connects with the debate that arose around the massive projects in other regions and its territorial assessment.
Environmental risks, bad odors and impact on public health
Among the arguments most frequently repeated by the Gáldar City Council and the Stop Biogas Plant Platform in La Atalaya is the concern about the potential environmental risks and health effects associated with this type of facility when it is located near homes, schools, and areas of everyday use. Similar scenarios have been widely discussed in the controversy in Navarre.
The municipal allegations warn that the intensification of industrial activity could lead to a Increased emissions into the atmosphere, generation of odors, noise, vibrations and heavy trafficThese factors, if they persist, could affect the quality of life of residents in La Atalaya, Caleta de Arriba, and other nearby areas, especially in an environment where wind direction and speed play a key role in the dispersion of odors and particles; this is why neighborhood mobilization sometimes includes public actions such as the pot-banging protest in Zamora.
It is also emphasized that the proximity of a school about 500 meters from the planned site This necessitates a thorough risk analysis, as this is a particularly vulnerable population. The potential impact of persistent odors or potentially contaminated air on children and school staff is a major concern for both neighborhood associations and local authorities.
On the legal front, the City Council has invoked the Article 43 of the Spanish Constitution, relating to the right to health protectionand Article 45, which recognizes the right to a healthy environment. Based on these provisions, the application of the precautionary principle is invoked, a principle frequently used in European and Spanish case law when there are reasonable doubts about the effects of an industrial activity on public health, as has occurred in cases where the revocation of environmental permits has been requested, for example, in the case of The Wine Cube.
Incorporation cogeneration systems and energy hybridization According to the City Council, the biogas generated could increase the intensity and duration of the activity compared to the initially proposed project. This would mean longer operating hours, a constant flow of raw materials and products being transported, and greater pressure on the immediate environment; while also raising questions about the energy transition and its territorial planning.
From neighborhood conflict to legal action
While the municipalities involved have opted for the route of allegations and formal requests, the Stop Platform Biogas Plant in La Atalaya It has driven a mobilization process that has gained momentum over time. The initial assemblies and information campaigns have given way to a more complex strategy, in which the fight is also being waged in the courts, as in other cases where the plant divided the community, for example, the one in The Camachos.
At a recent neighborhood assembly, the third held by the platform, it was explained that The conflict has entered a new phase: the legalization of the projectThis means that, in addition to the social and political debate, the courts will now have to rule on the legality of the authorizations, the correctness of the procedures followed, and respect for the rights of the affected population, as they have done. organized neighbors in other cases.
The platform's spokespeople insisted that A legal process is slower, more technical, and more expensive. than street mobilization. It's not just about filing appeals, but about sustaining a well-founded defense for months or even years, with specialized advice and sufficient financial capacity to cover fees and professional charges; the experience of other controversies, such as the second floor in Campos del ParaÃso, illustrates these challenges.
The public was informed that the existence of reasonable doubts about how the authorizations have been processed The platform justifies going to court so that a judge can thoroughly review the case. It emphasizes that this is not merely a technical matter, but rather a way to ensure that decisions with a direct impact on daily life are made with all necessary safeguards.
In this context, the platform has carried out a appeal for economic and social support from the neighborhoodThe idea is that the legal defense of the territory should not fall exclusively on a small group of volunteers, but rather become a collective effort of the entire affected community, where every contribution, however small, helps to sustain the cause; examples of citizen mobilization such as the mobilization in Lorca They demonstrate the importance of social support.
Institutional position: support for renewables, but with guarantees
Both the Gáldar City Council and municipal representatives from the area have made it clear that They are not opposed to the development of renewable energies as a general principle. On the contrary, they insist on the need to move towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy model, in line with European guidelines and the decarbonization strategy in Spain.
What they do question is the The specific way in which the biogas plant in La Atalaya and the associated hybrid facility are being promotedThe Galdar City Council demands that any project of this type be subject to a rigorous environmental assessment, that all its components be processed in an integrated manner, and that the effective participation of all affected administrations be guaranteed.
In the documents submitted, the City Council formulates express opposition to the granting of administrative authorizations until a comprehensive assessment of the environmental, health, and territorial impacts of all the planned facilities has been carried out. In other words, it requests that the process be halted until a comprehensive and transparent analysis is conducted.
Municipal sources insist that respect legal channels, environmental safeguards, and the hearing of the parties involved It is not an obstacle to renewable energy, but rather an essential condition for these projects to have social and legal legitimacy. In a region where citizens have already expressed their concern, skipping these steps could exacerbate the conflict.
The institutional message can be summarized in one idea: Support for the energy transition, but not at the expense of health, well-being and community participationHence the emphasis on the need to promote the renewable energy industry, accompanied by careful land-use planning and genuine mechanisms for dialogue with the local population.
The situation surrounding the biogas plant in La Atalaya and the associated hybrid facility remains delicate: with pending appeals, a challenged authorization process, and a conflict now in the hands of the courts. Pending administrative and judicial decisions, The local community is caught between advocating for a more sustainable energy model and demanding that their health, their environment, and their right to be heard are not relegated to a secondary concern., in a debate that transcends the local and connects with the challenges of the ecological transition in Spain and in Europe.
