Renewable Energy Distributed Generation

Palos Verdes Landfill Palos Verdes Landfill Gas-to-Energy Facility Landfill gas fueled 2.4 MW Low NOx burners

25706 Hawthorne Boulevard Rolling Hills Estates, CA90274 Background One of two smaller gas-to-energy facilities constructed by the Sanitation Districts, this facility is located at the now-closed Palos Verdes Landfill. The gas that is produced creates enough electrical energy to power over 3,000 homes. Landfill The Palos Verdes Landfill was operated by the Sanitation Districts as a sanitary landfill from May 1957 through December 1980. The Sanitation Districts continue to conduct on-going maintenance and monitoring of the site. Power Generation The gas-to-energy facility is a conventional Rankine Cycle Steam Power Plant using landfill gas (LFG) as fuel to generate electricity. Landfill gas is fired in the plant’s boilers producing superheated steam. The superheated steam is used to drive the steam turbine/generator to generate electric power. Currently, the Palos Verdes Landfill facility produces approximately 2.4 MW net of electric power. The power is used to meet onsite landfill needs, is utilized by the Districts' water reclamation facilities, and is also put on the Southern California Edison (SCE) electrical grid. Benefits The Sanitation Districts were among the leaders in the landfill industry to install extensive networks of LFG collection systems on all its sanitary landfills for controlling gas migration and eliminating LFG pollution or hazards. The collected landfill gas is either utilized as a valuable renewable energy source or safely disposed through thermal incineration in landfill gas flares. The majority of the collected landfill gas is utilized for electrical power generation. Significant benefits include the effective management of methane gas collected at landfills and the generation of revenue from energy sales. By using boilers to combust the gas and a landfill gas pretreatment system customized for each facility, the Sanitation Districts maintain emission levels well below those required by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Overall, the three Sanitation Districts’ facilities have successfully demonstrated that a landfill gas-to-energy plant can combust low-BTU landfill gas as boiler fuel, reduce air emissions, and provide significant economic benefits for landfill owners.