The oldest utilized energy on earth is also its future. Renewable, readily available all over the world, and increasingly less expensive because of the better efficiencies offered by more and more technologically advanced burn systems, biomass offers us a reprieve from our dependence on fossil fuels. The double security of sustainability and independence positions biomass at the front of cutting edge energy and environmental policies.

According to the International Energy Association, bioenergy resources such as forestry and agriculture crops, biomass residues, and wastes already provide about 14% of the world's primary energy supplies. Bioenergy offers cost-effective and sustainable power with the potential to meet 50% of world energy demands during the next century and at the same time reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels. So biomass can help us respond directly to global warming.

Biomass also promises to improve energy availability for developing countries by allowing for low-cost small-scale facilities to meet the needs of specific regions economically and efficiently. Biomass presents a sustainable alternative to often expensive and scarce fossil fuels.

Market demand for biomass-fueled co-generation systems is expected to grow based on the following factors:

  • Industries will require on-site generation of electricity and process heat, especially as a means to reduce dependence on costly natural gas and grid electricity.
  • Industries will seek the security and predictability of on-site generation.
  • Industries will need to dispose of biomass and organic waste efficiently and economically.
  • Federal and local regulatory agencies will increase requirements to reduce VOC emissions.
  • Federal and local governments will institute mandates and incentive programs to increase the use of renewable resources to generate electricity.
  • Industries will reevaluate the global abundance of low-cost biomass fuels in comparison to dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.
  • Developing nations will require electrification systems that employ locally available fuel, and will look to independent generation units rather than centralized energy generation to make electricity affordable.

    International, federal, and state governments will continue to impose increasingly stringent environmental regulations on industry. The cost associated with complying with these regulations will continue to rise. For instance, the American Forest & Paper Association estimates that as much as 28% of the forest industry's $10 billion of annual capital expenditures will be directed towards the costs associated with complying with environmental regulations. The Zilkha Biomass Unit is designed to address certain of these environmental concerns and to meet the growing energy needs of industry economically.

     

     

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