The round table on “Social responsibility of biogas/biomethane facilities” The 18th International Bioenergy Congress, held within the framework of the Renewable Gas Exhibition, focused on the key challenge for the deployment of these technologies: social acceptance in rural areas.
Moderated by Javier Diaz, president of AVEBIOM, had the participation of Joan Battle (SEDIGAS), Luis Puchades (AEBIG), Pedro Martín (UPA) and Donaciano Dujo (ASAJA). Everyone agreed that biogas and biomethane plants are part of the solution to the problems of waste, emissions and depopulation, provided they are located correctly, respect the neighbors and distribute benefits in the territory.
From potential to real projects… and to social debate
Joan Batalla noted that Spain has gone “from talking only about potential to talking about projects”: with 17 plants injecting biomethane and more than 270 projects in process or under constructionThe sector is starting to take off, although still far from the pace of other European countries.
He emphasized the well-known benefits: waste management, contribution to decarbonization, strengthening energy sovereignty, and job and wealth creation in rural areas. But he warned that simply explaining the overall advantages is no longer enough: what worries residents is whether there will be odors, whether trucks will pass through the town center, or whether the plant will be a real opportunity for their farms.
Hence the importance of achieving a “social license” that complements the already demanding environmental and administrative license.
“We are on the right side of history,” but we need to tell the story better.
Luis Puchades was emphatic: biogas and biomethane are “on the right side of history,” because they combine decarbonization, responsible waste management and support for agriculture, livestock and the agri-food industry.
However, he expressed concern about the growing activism against the projects and argued that The entire sector must "pull together" in communicationespecially towards rural areas. AEBIG considers it strategic that biomethane goes “absolutely hand in hand with the agricultural world”: farmers and ranchers are the ones who live in the territory, generate the waste and should benefit first from the plants.
UPA and ASAJA: yes to plants, but with clear rules
The interventions of Pedro Martín (UPA) y Donaciano Dujo (ASAJA) They confirmed a key message: the agricultural organizations They support biogas and biomethane plants, but not “at any price”.
UPA expressed its “full support” for the deployment of these facilities as a tool to solve the problem of slurry and other livestock and agricultural waste, generate employment, and retain population in rural areas. However, it pointed out several critical issues that are currently fueling public opposition:
- Lack of prior information To residents and local councils: many only find out about the project when it is already well underway.
- Excessive concentration of projects within a few kilometers, without territorial planning.
- Concerns about odors, heavy traffic, and the type of waste treatedespecially when livestock waste is mixed with urban sewage sludge or waste from outside the region.
ASAJA, for its part, argued that The plants should be located where there is already a real waste management problem, such as areas vulnerable to nitrates, and not in clean agricultural areas or just because there is a good electricity or gas connection.
Dujo pointed out that, in Castile and León alone, pig farming generates millions of tons of slurry annually, and that, if properly treated, it could be converted into natural fertilizer for a significant portion of the agricultural land, reducing dependence on imported mineral fertilizers. But he was clear:
- The people will not accept that their lands are used to treat urban sludge brought from afar.
- It is essential a clear and agreed-upon order at the regional level, defining suitable locations, minimum distances to population centers and reasonable plant sizes.
Definitely: “Yes to biogas and biomethane plants,” provided there is coordination, planning, and good management.
Location, local partners, and profit sharing
From the interventions, a clear consensus emerged:
- Location is crucialA poorly located project is destined for social conflict or administrative failure.
- Distances between plants and waste generation must be minimized to reduce heavy traffic and transport-related emissions.
- It is key to involve agricultural cooperatives, livestock farmers and agri-food industries as partners or stable suppliers of raw materials, closing the circle with the delivery of organic fertilizers to local farms.
As Luis Puchades pointed out, when the farmers and ranchers of the area participate in the project, the benefits become tangible – additional income, a solution to the manure problem, more affordable fertilization – and Social protest is losing momentumespecially in the face of platforms driven from outside the territory.
More communication and regulations that arrive on time.
Javier Díaz acknowledged that the renewable gas sector itself has been “somewhat late” in adopting a social approach to projects and that this has allowed room for misleading or self-serving messages. AVEBIOM, AEBIG, and SEDIGAS agree that joint efforts with UPA and ASAJA must be strengthened to:
- organize conferences, assemblies and visits in the villages before the projects are finalized,
- explain clearly What waste will be treated, what odors might be present, how the trucks will be managed, and what benefits the municipality will receive.,
- and to assist the administrations in defining clear and realistic rules that offer legal certainty to both developers and residents.
Díaz noted that steps are already being taken in that direction with specific forums on biomethane aimed precisely at to explain to society what these plants are, what advantages they offer, and what their limitations are, with the aim of countering the misinformation and biased reports that are fueling some of the social rejection.
Furthermore, the speakers called for greater involvement from the advisory bodies and the Ministry of AgricultureBecause biomethane projects are as much about energy and the environment as they are about agriculture: they directly affect the future viability of many farms.
A shared commitment since the Renewable Gas Show
The discussion concluded with a shared idea: The deployment of biogas and biomethane in Spain will only be sustainable if it is built hand in hand with the countryside and the villages.
The renewable gas sector, agricultural organizations, and government agencies now have the opportunity—and the responsibility—to plan land use, carefully select sites, design exemplary projects, and explain them transparently. Only in this way can biogas and biomethane plants consolidate their essential purpose:
a circular economy tool to manage waste, reduce emissions and generate opportunities in rural areas, with the local community as the main ally and beneficiary.