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California Landfill Taps Methane for Power by Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press San Jose Mercury News, January 22, 2015

IRVINE, Calif. -- Southern California officials have broken ground on a project that will power nearly 20,000 homes with electricity generated from methane produced by rotting garbage.

The project that broke ground Thursday in Orange County could be one of the last large-scale trash-driven power plants on the books because the state is running out of landfills big enough to provide the economies of scale developers look for.

The project at the waste dump east of Irvine will cost $60 million and provide power for the equivalent of a small suburban city.

There are 62 other landfill-to-power projects in California. Eight more are in the works, including the Irvine-area project.

The developer will sell the power to Anaheim Public Utilities and Orange County will reap royalties for the use of its landfill's gas.