BelEnergia, an Italian company, has unveiled its plans to construct two waste recovery plants in Spain. The first plant will be situated in the town of La Almunia de Doña Godina, located in Zaragoza, while the second plant will be built in the municipality of San Esteban de La Litera, situated in Huesca. These projects have been designated as being of regional significance by the Council of Government. The total investment for the two plants amounts to approximately €62.8 million euros, and they are expected to create 154 job opportunities during the construction phase and an additional 40 jobs once operational.
BelEnergia has disclosed that the La Almunia de Doña Godina plant will require an investment of €32.8 million euros, and the Bailón Group is projected to become a partner with a 10% stake in the venture. On the other hand, the San Esteban de La Litera plant will receive €30 million euros in funding. In terms of employment, each plant will generate 77 jobs during the construction phase and 20 jobs during the operational phase.
The La Almunia de Doña Godina plant will cover an area of 132,939 square meters and will be located near the La Cuesta III industrial park. The land for this plant has already been allocated by the City Council of La Almunia. The primary focus of the facility will be waste treatment, with approximately 90% of the waste being chicken manure sourced from poultry farms in the area.
Similarly, the San Esteban de La Litera plant will collaborate with local farms, processing manure in its 124,700 square meter facilities. The goal of both plants will be to achieve a consistent composition that promotes anaerobic digestion, leading to the production of biogas. These substrates will be mixed with waste materials from other industries such as whey, wastewater slurry, and slurry, all sourced from local companies. BelEnergia has already initiated discussions with local farms capable of supplying a sufficient quantity of these substrates to ensure the uninterrupted operation of both plants.
Currently, BelEnergia is collaborating with 14 poultry farms, predominantly located in La Almunia and nearby towns like Ricla, Alpartir, and Calatorao. In the case of San Esteban de La Litera, the primary substrate will also originate from livestock farms, particularly within the municipality and surrounding areas, where there are 622 farms situated within a 10-kilometer radius of the BelEnergia plant.
The biogas produced at both plants in Aragon will be stored in gasometers, and two gas streams will be derived from it. One stream will be utilized in cogeneration engines, enabling the entire facility to be self-sufficient in terms of energy. The second stream will be directed to the upgrading unit, where carbon dioxide (CO2) will be extracted to produce a biomethane stream (CH4) with a purity level of 98%. This biomethane will be suitable for injection into the distribution network. Furthermore, the extracted CO2 stream will undergo purification, liquefaction, and bottling for commercial purposes.
