WASHINGTON – Aug. 20, 2025 – New analysis released today by the American Biogas Council (ABC) highlights strong growth in U.S. landfill biogas facilities, with steady increases in investment and energy production over the past five years.
Biogas systems at landfills capture the gases that waste produces as it breaks down within the landfill. The biogas is then used to power and heat homes, fuel vehicles, and generate electricity.
As of August 2025, the U.S. has 589 landfill biogas facilities in operation nationwide, an 18.5% increase since 2020. In just over five years, more than 90 new facilities have been commissioned, boosting beneficial biogas capture capacity from landfills by 148 billion cubic feet (Bcf) to a total of 521 Bcf annually, enough to meet the electricity use of 3.3 million U.S. homes or fuel 5.2 million passenger vehicles per year.
Developers added 56.3 Bcf of capacity in 2024 alone—the largest single-year increase on record, greater than the combined additions from 2019 through 2022. Aligning with the growth in gas capture facilities, capital investment in ne
w facilities exceeded $1 billion per year in both 2023 and 2024.
“Landfill biogas facilities are a smart way to create more beneficial energy for America and provide jobs in communities across the country,” said ABC Executive Director Patrick Serfass. “We expect growth in this sector to continue as more and more landfill owners seize the opportunity to utilize the gas produced from our waste for beneficial use.”
Of the 92 landfill biogas facilities that have opened since 2020, 77 upgrade their biogas to renewable natural gas (RNG), propelling RNG’s share of landfill gas output from 19% to 40%. Today, landfill biogas systems can capture about 540.5 Bcf of RNG each year– enough energy to fuel 2.1 million passenger vehicles per year.
While RNG production from landfill biogas has grown rapidly, most captured landfill gas 60% ─ or about 312.5 Bcf ─ is still used for electricity genera
tion or direct heating. That’s enough biogas to supply two million households with power each year.
The ABC’s state-by-state analysis of biogas production reveals that Pennsylvania leads in annual landfill biogas capture capacity (56.6 Bcf/year) and hosts three of the nation’s 10 largest facilities. California ranks first in the number of operating facilities (55) and first in total capital investment ($1.4 billion), narrowly surpassing Pennsylvania. Texas, Michigan, and Illinois are also among the top contributors, with Illinois seeing the most new capacity come online from 2023 to 2025.
Despite the recent growth in landfill biogas capture, significant opportunity remains to collect this energy from American landfills. A 2024 report from the U.S. EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program identified 741 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills that merit landfill biogas facility development. Since that report, the ABC has identified 31 landfill biogas facilities going into operation, with 27 more under construction and 79 in the planning stage. Together the sites under development and those identified for potential development could provide an additional 1.8 trillion cubic feet of biogas available for capture each year ─ enough to power an additional 11.3 million homes or fuel an additional 17.6 million passenger vehicles.
For more information on biogas capture from landfills in each U.S. state, visit https://americanbiogascouncil.org/resources/state-profiles/
###
About the American Biogas Council
The American Biogas Council is the voice of the U.S. biogas industry dedicated to maximizing carbon reduction and economic growth using biogas systems, which. We represent more than 400 companies in all parts of the biogas supply chain who are leading the way to a better future by maximizing all the positive environmental and economic impacts biogas systems offer when they recycle organic material into renewable energy and soil products. Learn more online at AmericanBiogasCouncil.org, X @ambiogascouncil, and LinkedIn.