Granadilla Approves Tenerife's First Biogas Plant
ATH Bioenergy has received final approval from the Granadilla de Abona City Council to build Tenerife's first biogas plant, which will produce biomethane and fertilizers, following a nearly two-year wait.
The Granadilla de Abona City Council has finally given ATH Bioenergy permission to build a biogas plant. This major building permit, for a leased site in the industrial park, comes after nearly two years of waiting. The company hopes the plant will be up and running within the next year.
This new facility, covering 15,678 square meters, will be Tenerife's first biogas plant and the second in the Canary Islands (another started construction in Gran Canaria last year). The approval means ATH Bioenergy can now build and launch this advanced plant. It will produce biomethane and modern fertilizers, aiming to set new standards for clean energy and waste management in the Canary Islands.
The plant will offer a complete solution for handling industrial organic waste from the islands. Its goals are:
- To produce renewable biomethane for use in industry, vehicles, or to be added to the power grid, thereby cutting down on fossil fuel use.
- To create liquid and solid fertilizers, helping the islands become more self-sufficient in agriculture.
- To capture and clean food-grade CO2 for industrial use.
- To reuse treated water for farm irrigation (not for drinking), which will reduce the need to draw fresh water.
ATH Bioenergy also plans to build two more plants in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura by 2026. A key aim is to create a "closed loop" system: collecting organic waste from hotels and then selling them biomethane, creating a sustainable and efficient cycle. Across all four planned plants in the Canary Islands, about 60 direct jobs are expected, with a total investment of over 65 million euros. The company's business model relies on selling three products: biomethane, fertilizers, and high-purity bio-CO2. This will help diversify the islands' economy.
ATH Bioenergy is owned by fund manager Suma Capital, which recently bought an 80% stake, and Swiss company Tibanna AG, which initiated these projects in the Canary Islands. Ruperto Unzué, a partner at Suma Capital's SC Infra, explained that the delays were caused by challenges in getting site permits and the biomethane market not being fully developed yet.
Unzué noted that the situation has changed, with new, ambitious European targets for biomethane production: "35 billion cubic meters by 2030." He expects all four Canary Island plants to be operational by that time.