Waste Management Inc. has opened the first landfill gas-to-energy facility in northern Nevada.

The Houston-based waste and recycling company said in a news release that the plant at its landfill in Lockwood, near Reno, should generate enough electricity to power more than 1,800 homes. At the power plant the collected gas will be used as fuel to run two generators.

The project, which went online in March, will offset the use of about 700 railcars' worth of coal, Waste Management said.

Overall, Waste Management owns or operates 131 landfill gas-to-energy facilities in North America, producing electricity to power nearly 475,000 homes.

Waste Management has 300 employees in Nevada and provides waste and recycling service to nearly 131,000 customers in northern Nevada.