Residents of Llanos del Caudillo denounce the lack of transparency in the processing of a biomethane plant

• The new plant would process more than 165,000 tons of waste per year, of which 105,000 tons would be slurry.
• The plant’s developer, ID Energy, is a member of the Spanish Biogas Association, which, in its best practices guide, recommends informing and encouraging citizen participation from the outset of projects.
• The mayor has sent letters to several residents warning of fines for posting signs opposing the biogas plant.

The residents of Llanos del Caudillo have expressed their concern and unease regarding the Town Council’s processing of a project to install a biomethane plant in the municipality without prior consultation. The project, promoted by Pelecanus SL, a subsidiary of ID Energy Group, envisions the treatment of 165,000 tons of waste per year, of which 105,000 tons would be pig slurry. However, according to the Livestock Registry of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, there is only one pig farm in the town, indicating that the plant would process waste from other municipalities.

Opaque processing

The project’s processing has been opaque to the public, including the application for priority project status, based on a recent legal amendment that facilitates the approval of these types of facilities in vulnerable areas. It so happens that the promoting company, ID Energy Group, is a member of the Spanish Biogas Association (AEBIG), which, in its Best Practices Guide, recommends informing and encouraging public participation from the outset of projects—something that has not been done in this case.

Neighborhood platform

Faced with a lack of information and the resulting tension, residents have formed the citizens’ platform Stop Biogas Plant Llanos Del Caudillo to demand transparency and organized an informative talk led by Professor Máximo Florín of the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM). In addition, the platform put up posters against the biogas plant, and the mayor, who is also a board member of the public company Solid Urban Waste Management of Castilla-La Mancha, has responded by sending letters to several residents warning of fines for posting those posters.

The residents’ platform states that the mayor has consistently refused to meet with residents personally to discuss this issue specifically, but he did organize an informational meeting with the company promoting the biogas plant and its financial backers on October 6th, providing all the technical resources he has denied to his own constituents. There is great concern because other processing plants with a total capacity of nearly 600,000 tons are planned in the area surrounding the town, such as those in Manzanares and Tomelloso.

The citizens’ platform stated: “We feel ignored and are worried about the lack of information and transparency. We want to know how this project could affect our town and we demand that our voices be heard before decisions are made that affect us all.”

The citizens’ platform and the Stop Industrial Livestock Farming Castilla-La Mancha organization consider the City Council’s actions unacceptable and denounce the violation of residents’ rights, expressing their support for those demanding transparency and participation in decision-making processes that affect the municipality.

Read full news in Spanish here.