The purpose of the current survey was to analyze the potential for energy generation using municipal solid waste (MSW) in Ecuador as a biomass source, considering the current policies in terms of MSW management and related environmental protection. The MSW situation analysis was based on the regulations dictated by the local Constitution and the Environmental Authority. It is established that the local governments (GADs) are responsible for the MSW management inside their jurisdictions and also the Environmental Authority is responsible to verify the mandatory integral MSW management plans accomplishment through the National Solid Waste Integral Management Program (PNGIDS). The energy analysis focused on the current generation rate and MSW composition Generic figures of heating value obtained for each one of the components were used in the calculations. Results show that Ecuador has a raw waste- to- energy potential of 18 467 MWh/ year. Since the energy generation depends on the chosen technology, it was estimated that the amount of available MSW has the potential to produce 2 955 MWh of electricity/ year through steam cycle, 5 338 MWh of electricity/ year through gasification plus internal combustion engine (ICE), 2 942 MWh of electricity/ year through anaerobic digestion plus ICE and 824 MWh of electricity/ year through landfill gas collection plus ICE.