11 billion. And that's only 445 projects out of the 3,091 active landfills and 10,000 older landfills in the US. Well, we have to keep in mind that not all of the landfills are going to be ideal methane producers -- some of the older ones are dead, and conditions may be wrong in the newer ones. The EPA estimates another 535 "present attractive opportunities" -- but that's still doubling the number currently in existence. And if that's only counting the attractive opportunities, as the technology improves less attractive ones may become usable as well.
What's more, since methane (the gas that is collected and used for landfill energy) is a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide, burning it not only provides an energy source but also reduces climate impact of landfills.
However, there are a few technical difficulties with landfill energy. For instance, overestimating the rate of landfill gas recovery can lead to economic problems later, especially with operating costs and the issue of how long the new facility will take to pay for itself. There are also problems with level of demand for power and how well the system interconnects with the existing grid. Overall, however, landfill energy looks like a way to get some environmental and energy return on what would otherwise be just a bunch of trash.
Your post makes me wonder about those marginal landfills that are deemed too low in methane production to be economically viable. Could the gas from several such landfills be collected and stored for use in a boiler or in an offsite turbine?
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