Overview on LFG projects in China

Since the first landfill gas (LFG) power plant in China was built in 1998, by now more than 10 years have passed. In this period the LFG utilization process has progressed greatly in China. An overall review of the process is presented in this paper, which includes the background of policies, the information about the approval procedure of LFG projects, and the theoretical methods used to estimate the amount of LFG’s generation. Detailed analysis on the project practice, such as LFG collection techniques, LFG utilization condition in China, is made. According to statistic data, before the end of 2008, 26 LFG power projects have been built and put into operation with total power capacity around 56.8 MW, and 2.234 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent abatement has been achieved annually by all of these LFG projects. The future of LFG industry in China is expected that there is still considerable developing space for LFG utilization in the near coming years, however after 2012, the progress speed may slow down because of some adverse aspects, such as available landfill resource becomes scarce, new laws implemented in China might exclude Chinese landfills from future CDM activities, etc.