Valdepeñas opens the regulation of biomethane plants for public consultation

The Valdepeñas City Council (Ciudad Real) has opened for public information the Specific Modification (MP) number 14 of its Municipal Zoning Plan (POM), regarding the compatibility conditions for biomethane plants within the municipal district. The announcement, dated October 7, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha (DOCM) no. 204, dated October 23, 2026, under official reference 2026/7322. The public exhibition period is one month, during which claims and suggestions may be submitted.

The agreement activating the process is Mayoral Decree no. 2026-8190, dated October 6, 2026, signed by Mayor Jesús Martín Rodríguez, and is contained in file number 19414/2025. The modification does not address the authorization of a specific installation, but rather the urban regulation that determines under what conditions this industrial activity is compatible with the municipality’s current planning.

One month of exhibition and two consultation channels

The technical documentation of file 19414/2025 will be available throughout the public information period in two formats:

• The offices of the Urban Planning Department of the Valdepeñas City Council.
• The municipal website, in the notice board section, Urban Planning area (www.valdepenas.es).

The calculation of the deadline does not begin with the publication in the DOCM, but from the day following the last publication of the announcement. The decree provides for three dissemination channels: the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the province, and the Municipal Notice Board. The closing date of the period is therefore conditional upon which of these publications is the last.

Sectoral reports and inter-administrative consultation

The decree also orders the request of the sectoral reports identified in the legal report incorporated into the file. To this end, the agreement and the technical documentation will be forwarded to the public bodies competent to issue them.

The requests will include two express indications:

• That the request implies the opening of the consultation process under Article 10 of the TRLOTAU, for the inter-administrative coordination of zoning solutions throughout the report issuance period.
• That the reports be issued in the shortest possible timeframe, in accordance with Article 135.2 of the RP.

Who the modification affects

The regulation currently under processing affects three groups with differing interests regarding the municipality’s land. Energy developers interested in implementing biomethane plants will find in the POM the framework that establishes their urban compatibility; the agricultural sector, which provides the organic waste that feeds these types of facilities, is concerned by the location conditions; and residents now have a formal channel to lodge objections regarding the installation of these plants in their surroundings.

The process takes place within a regional context of biomethane expansion: the DOCM itself has published resolutions in recent weeks from the General Directorate of Energy Transition and the General Directorate of Environmental Quality regarding biomethane production and injection projects in towns such as Consuegra and Mocejón (Toledo).

The public information period is the procedural stage in which interested parties can influence the content of the modification before its final approval. For Valdepeñas, MP number 14 will decide the urban fit of a booming energy activity and, consequently, the real room for maneuver for developers, farmers, and residents regarding projects that may be presented in the municipality.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 204, October 23, 2026, section V (Announcements), page 37557 (official reference: 2026/7322).