The United States operates 651 landfill gas (LFG) energy projects at active and closed municipal solid waste landfills — every one of them tracked by the EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP). Rather than letting decomposing waste release methane directly into the atmosphere, these facilities capture the gas and put it to work: generating electricity for the grid, supplying direct heat to industrial facilities, or upgrading the gas into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (RNG). The map below plots all 651 projects across 46 states, color-coded by project type, with full EPA data in every popup.
Use the state dropdown to zoom into any state, or search for a specific address to find nearby LFG projects. Click any dot for the landfill owner, city, and county, project type, operational status, landfill open and closure years, and the volume of waste in place. Data is sourced directly from the EPA LMOP database, updated September 2024.
Landfill Gas Energy in the US: Key Statistics
The LMOP database as of September 2024 documents the following across all operational LFG energy projects:
- 651 total LFG energy projects currently operational across the US
- 481 electricity generation projects — landfills generating power sold to the grid (blue dots on the map)
- 133 direct use projects — landfill gas piped directly to industrial, commercial, or institutional end users as a fuel (green dots)
- 37 renewable natural gas (RNG) projects — gas upgraded to pipeline-quality methane and injected into the natural gas grid or used as vehicle fuel (orange dots)
- 46 states have at least one operational LFG project
- ~4.1 billion tons of waste in place across electricity-generating landfill sites
- 1,291 MMSCFD of landfill gas collected at electricity projects — enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes
- Nearly equal public/private split: 242 privately owned electricity sites, 238 publicly owned
- Landfills in the database opened as early as 1900 and as recently as 2008
Top 12 States by LFG Electricity Projects
Electricity generation is the dominant use of landfill gas, accounting for 74% of all LMOP projects. California leads by a wide margin, driven by strict waste diversion policies and large urban landfills in the Los Angeles Basin.
| Rank | State | Electricity Projects |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 74 |
| 2 | Illinois | 35 |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 31 |
| 4 | Michigan | 30 |
| 5 | New York | 27 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 27 |
| 7 | Virginia | 21 |
| 8 | Texas | 21 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 21 |
| 10 | New Jersey | 18 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 18 |
| 12 | Florida | 15 |
Largest LFG Sites by Waste Volume
The amount of gas a landfill can generate is directly related to how much waste it contains. These are the largest individual landfill sites (by waste in place, in tons) that host electricity-generating LFG projects in the LMOP database. Note that a single large landfill often hosts more than one LFG project simultaneously.
| Operator | Location | Waste in Place (tons) |
|---|---|---|
| Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County | Whittier, CA | 123,000,000 |
| Republic Services, Inc. | Apex, NV | 59,000,000 |
| Waste Management, Inc. | Livermore, CA | 57,857,143 |
| County of Orange — OC Waste & Recycling | Brea, CA | 48,250,000 |
| BKK Corporation | West Covina, CA | 45,700,000 |
| Middlesex County Utilities Authority | East Brunswick, NJ | 45,437,841 |
| United States Navy | San Diego, CA | 42,200,000 |
| Waste Management, Inc. | Pompano Beach, FL | 41,720,359 |
Three Types of LFG Energy Projects
Electricity Generation (481 projects, blue)
The most common use of landfill gas. The raw gas is piped from the landfill’s collection system to an on-site power plant — typically reciprocating engines or turbines — and the electricity is sold to the local utility. A medium-sized LFG electricity project generates 1–4 MW continuously, enough to power 1,000–4,000 average US homes. The largest sites collect more than 40 MMSCFD of gas. Because these projects run 24 hours a day, they provide firm baseload power unlike solar or wind.
Direct Use (133 projects, green)
Instead of generating electricity, the landfill gas is piped directly — sometimes several miles — to an industrial or institutional end user that burns it as a boiler fuel or process heat source. Common users include cement kilns, greenhouse operators, universities, wastewater treatment plants, and food processors. Virginia leads the US with 13 direct use projects, followed by Michigan (11) and Indiana (10), reflecting the concentration of heavy industry in those states.
Renewable Natural Gas / Upgraded LFG (37 projects, orange)
The fastest-growing project type. Raw landfill gas is roughly 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide. RNG projects remove the CO2, hydrogen sulfide, and moisture to produce a high-BTU gas that is chemically equivalent to fossil natural gas. This gas can be injected directly into the interstate pipeline system or compressed for use as vehicle fuel (liquefied natural gas or compressed natural gas). Demand for RNG has surged as transport fleets and utilities seek low-carbon fuel credits.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many landfill gas energy projects are operating in the US?
As of September 2024, the EPA LMOP database documents 651 operational LFG energy projects at landfills across 46 states: 481 generating electricity, 133 supplying direct heat to industrial users, and 37 producing pipeline-quality renewable natural gas.
Which state has the most landfill gas electricity projects?
California leads with 74 electricity-generating LFG projects, well ahead of second-place Illinois (35). California’s dominance reflects both its large population — producing more municipal waste than any other state — and its aggressive landfill gas capture regulations under the California Air Resources Board.
Is landfill gas considered renewable energy?
It depends on the jurisdiction. The EPA classifies LFG energy as a renewable, green power source under the Green Power Partnership program, and most US state renewable portfolio standards count it as eligible. The EU and some US states treat it as a lower tier than wind or solar. As a greenhouse gas, the methane captured would otherwise escape into the atmosphere at roughly 80 times the warming potential of CO2 over 20 years — so even from a climate perspective, combusting it is a significant improvement over release.
How much electricity does a typical LFG project generate?
A typical electricity-generating LFG project produces between 1 MW and 10 MW of continuous power. The largest projects at major urban landfills can exceed 50 MW. Because LFG generation is continuous (not intermittent like solar or wind), even a 3 MW project delivers roughly 26 million kWh per year — comparable to powering 2,400 average US homes.
What is the difference between LFG direct use and RNG?
Direct use sends raw or minimally processed landfill gas by pipeline to a nearby end user (a factory, university, or greenhouse) that burns it for heat. RNG takes the extra step of purifying the gas to pipeline quality — removing CO2, water, and contaminants — so it can enter the natural gas grid or fuel vehicles. RNG commands a premium price due to federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) credits, which is why it is the fastest-growing LFG project type despite requiring more capital investment.
Related Energy and Environment Maps
Landfill gas is one piece of the US energy and waste picture. Explore related datasets on Mapscaping:
- US Power Plants Interactive Map — all EIA-tracked generating units by fuel type and capacity
- US Wind Turbines Map — every utility-scale turbine in the USWTDB database
- US Solar Farms Map — utility-scale solar plants by state and capacity
- US Electric Transmission Lines Map — the high-voltage grid that carries LFG electricity to homes
- US Natural Gas Pipeline Map — the interstate pipeline network that RNG projects inject into
- US Wastewater Treatment Plants Map — another major source of biogas energy in the US
- Superfund Sites Map — EPA-designated contamination sites, many co-located near legacy landfills
