ABC: US landfills increase energy capture

The American Biogas Council (ABC) has released a new analysis that highlights the growth in U.S. landfill biogas facilities over the past five years. These systems capture landfill gas that can be used to power and heat homes, fuel vehicles and generate electricity.

As of August, the U.S. has 589 landfill biogas facilities operating nationwide, an 18.5 percent increase since 2020. In just over five years, more than 90 new facilities have been commissioned, boosting beneficial biogas capture capacity from landfills by 148 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to a total of 521 Bcf annually, Washington-based ABC says, enough to meet the electricity use of 3.3 million U.S. homes or fuel 5.2 million passenger vehicles per year.

Developers added 56.3 Bcf of capacity in 2024 alone, the largest single-year increase on record, ABC says, greater than the combined additions from 2019 through 2022. Aligning with the growth in gas capture facilities, capital investment in new facilities exceeded $1 billion per year in 2023 and 2024. 

“Landfill biogas facilities are a smart way to create more beneficial energy for America and provide jobs in communities across the country,” ABC Executive Director Patrick Serfass says. “We expect growth in this sector to continue as more and more landfill owners seize the opportunity to utilize the gas produced from our waste for beneficial use.” 

Of the 92 landfill biogas facilities that have opened since 2020, 77 upgrade their biogas to renewable natural gas (RNG), propelling RNG’s share of landfill gas output from 19 percent to 40 percent. Today, landfill biogas systems can capture about 540.5 Bcf of RNG annually, with the ABC says it enough energy to fuel 2.1 million passenger vehicles per year. 

While RNG production from landfill biogas has grown rapidly, most captured landfill gas at 60 percent, or about 312.5 Bcf, is used for electricity generation or direct heating. That’s enough biogas to supply w million households with power each year.

The ABC’s state-by-state analysis of biogas production reveals that Pennsylvania leads in annual landfill biogas capture capacity (56.6 Bcf per year), hosting three of the nation’s 10 largest facilities. California ranks first in the number of operating facilities at 55 and first in total capital investment, totaling $1.4 billion, narrowly surpassing Pennsylvania. Texas, Michigan and Illinois also are among the top contributors, with Illinois seeing the most new capacity coming online from 2023 to 2025.

Despite the recent growth in landfill biogas capture, significant opportunity remains to collect this energy from American landfills, ABC says, citing a 2024 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program, which identified 741 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills that merit landfill biogas facility development.

Since that report, the ABC has identified 31 landfill biogas facilities going into operation, with 27 more under construction and 79 in the planning stage. Together the sites under development and those identified for potential development could provide an additional 1.8 trillion cubic feet of biogas available for capture each year, which could power an additional 11.3 million homes or fuel an additional 17.6 million passenger vehicles.

Information on biogas capture from landfills in each U.S. state is available at the ABC website.