The Generalitat de Catalunya has designated biogas production projects as “strategic.” This status entails urgent and prioritized processing of environmental, urban planning, and construction procedures permits required to launch new biogas production plants, potentially simplifying and reducing timelines by up to 50%.  

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, Òscar Ordeig, and the Minister of Business and Labour, Miquel Sàmper, announced this strategy from Noguera Renovables, Spain’s first livestock-based biomethane producer and a pioneer in injecting gas directly into the distribution grid. 

The facility processes 73,000 tons of slurry annually from livestock at the adjacent Torre Santamaría farm. 

Located in Vallfogona de Balaguer (Lleida), Noguera Renovables is a joint venture between Sorigué, Axpo Iberia and Torre Santamaría, injecting approximately 26 GWh/year into the gas grid.  

Representing Sorigué, Juan Ignacio García, General Director of Water and Industry, and Andreu Rey, Director of Water Engineering, hosted the visit and explained the transformation of bio-waste into biogas and its purification into biomethane.   

New business opportunities  

During his address, the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food emphasized that biogas will open “a new window of competitiveness for the livestock sector, as it will, on one hand, reduce energy costs through self-consumption and, on the other, offer the opportunity to create new business ventures through the production of biomethane for injection into the natural gas grid or the production of high-quality fertilizers from waste treatment.”  

Catalonia generates 9.4 million tons of slurry and 2.8 million tons of manure annually, representing a potential resource for energy production to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.  

The Catalan biogas strategy aims to achieve a production of 2 TWh/year by 2030, which would require commissioning around twelve new anaerobic co-digestion plants each year.  

During the technical tour of Noguera Renovables, attendees had the opportunity to address questions with Sorigué representatives, as well as Joan Baptiste, General Director of Torre Santamaría, and Sebastià Farré, project advisor.  

The group included Rosa Altisent, General Director of Agriculture and Livestock of the Generalitat de Catalunya; Jaume Feixa, Head of Territorial Services in Lleida; Lorena González, Councillor of Balaguer City Council; Nuria Gil, Government Delegate in Lleida; Oriol Alcoba, General Director of Industry of the Generalitat de Catalunya; Pilar Espax, Head of Territorial Services for Business and Labour in Lleida; Rosa María Armengol, Head of the La Noguera Regional Office; and Guifré Ricart, Councillor for Urban Planning, Business, and Natural Environment of Balaguer City Council.