Puente Hills Energy Recovery from Gas (PERG)

Commissioned in 1987, the Puente Hills Energy Recovery from Gas (PERG) landfill gas extraction and Rankin cycle steam generation power plant, was the world’s largest such facility at the time of its development.

The PERG project utilizes landfill gas (LFG) generated by the bacterial decomposition of organic materials contained in municipal solid wastes of the landfill. A 50-MW steam powerplant utilizes the landfill gas to generate electricity.

Abundant and readily available, landfill methane is a renewable resource with a potential generating capacity of 3,000 MW in the United States and 9,000 MW globally. In the United State alone, there are currently nearly 600 operating LFG plants with a 1,813 MW capacity. Another 540 landfills are candidates for LFG generation plants with a 1,212 MW projected capacity.

For more information see the Puente Hills Energy Recovery from Gas (PERG) Plant Case Study.

For more information on the 50-MW powerplant see the reprinted article from POWER magazine.