Distributed Energy Resource Guide: DER Technology Installations -- Lopez Canyon Landfill

In August 2001, fifty 30-kW Capstone MicroTurbines were installed at the Lopez Canyon Landfill in Lake View Terrace, California as part of the Green Power for a Green L.A. Program. The MicroTurbines were funded through an LADWP commitment to SCAQMD to spend $14 million on clean air projects.

The Capstone MicroTurbines operate on landfill gas that would otherwise be flared (or burned) into the atmosphere. This eliminates approximately 10,000 pounds of NOx emissions per year -- the equivalent of removing 500 cars from Southern California roads. Combined, the fifty MicroTurbine units will generate a total of 1.5 MW of electricity, which is enough to power an estimated 1,500 homes in the Los Angeles area. The Lopez Canyon project is believed to be the largest microturbine power plant in the world to run exclusively off of landfill gas.