Renewable Energy Distributed Generation

Puente Hills Landfill Puente Hills Gas-to-Energy Facility Landfill gas fueled 46 MW net Low NOx burners 95% availability since 1987

13130 Crossroads Parkway South City of Industry, CA 91746 Background The largest gas-to-energy facility of the three constructed by the Sanitation Districts, this facility is located at the Puente Hills Landfill. It has been in full commercial operation since January 1987 and has remained on-line 95 percent of the time. The facility produces 50 MW (gross) of power, equivalent to the energy requirements of approximately 70,000 homes. Landfill The Puente Hills Landfill services homes and businesses in over 60 cities as well as unincorporated areas within Los Angeles County, managing approximately one third of the countywide waste requiring disposal. Power Generation The Puente Hills Gas-to-Energy facility is a conventional Rankine Cycle Steam Power Plant using landfill gas 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 Puente Hills Landfill facility produces approximately 46 MW net of electric power. The power is sold to the local utility company, Southern California Edison (SCE). Benefits The Sanitation Districts were among the leaders in the landfill industry to install extensive networks of LFG collection systems on all of its sanitary landfills. 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 rates 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.