LoCI Controls announced that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a new pathway for the Yolo County Central Landfill (YCCL), qualifying it for credits under the state鈥檚 Low Carbon Fuel Standard Tier 2. 聽In 2023, YCC installed a LoCI Controls聽automated real-time data and control system to increase methane capture and reduce emissions,聽the first of its kind in California.聽Now CARB has given YCCL a provisional carbon intensity (CI) score of聽鈥�101 gCO鈧俥/MJ, making it the most carbon-negative landfill gas project to date.
That score marks a major milestone for landfills, which account for around聽20% of California鈥檚 methane emissions. Typically, landfill electricity projects report positive CI values of 40-50 gCO鈧俥/MJ. LoCI Control鈥檚 negative CI score means the project removes more greenhouse gases than it emits.
Because LCFS credits grow more valuable as CI scores become more negative, this new pathway turns landfill electricity from a marginal compliance option into a profitable clean fuel, with the potential to scale across nearly one in three landfills statewide.鈥犫�淲e鈥檙e honored that CARB has recognized our work with this approval,鈥� said Peter Quigley, CEO of LoCI Controls. 鈥淚t鈥檚 proof that being a sustainable landfill doesn鈥檛 mean sacrificing revenue; it means creating it. Operators and developers now have a true win-win with stronger project economics and measurable environmental benefits.鈥�
Additional methane capture YCCL demonstrated from automated controls data was confirmed 聽by CARB staff with a peer-reviewed public methodology. CARB certification of YCCL under LCFS was validated by independent verifier T脺V S脺D America.鈥燳CCL qualifying for LCFS reinforces a growing body of research showing that landfill methane capture is a powerful and cost-effective way to cut methane emissions. The independent NGO Energy Vision鈥檚 report 鈥淟eading with Landfills鈥� found advanced landfill tech controls could cut 49% of U.S. MSW landfill methane emissions.
“This milestone approval makes the business case for adopting advanced landfill tech even more compelling,鈥� said Matt Tomich, President of Energy Vision. 鈥淲ith the right technology, landfills can become one of the lowest-cost, highest-impact strategies in mitigating methane emissions and advancing a low-carbon future.”
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