Zilkha Biomass Energy

We are dedicated to innovative sustainable energy solutions. Our prior company, Zilkha Renewable Energy, made it possible for more than 400,000 households to switch to green wind power by the time it was sold to Energias de Portugal.

Zilkha Biomass Energy is a continuation of that legacy.

• Zilkha Biomass Energy makes power out of woody biomass.
• We produce baseload natural renewable fuel, providing good long term jobs both in the field and in our plants.
• Zilkha Biomass Fuels produces the Zilkha Black® Pellet, a proprietary water-resistant biomass pellet that is transportable like coal.
• Zilkha Biomass Power operates a proprietary direct-fired biomass-fueled gas turbine unit that powers commercial and industrial facilities.

The amount of sunlight that reaches the earth’s surface during one hour is sufficient to power the entire world for a year 1. But the question is: How do we collect that energy? Sunlight disperses everywhere, shining all over the whole globe, making the energy very difficult to collect in a concentrated amount.

While a tiny bit of this sunlight powers solar generators, a huge amount of this sunlight feeds trees and plants. And then these trees and plants store energy in their cells and, in effect, become solar batteries. By harvesting these solar batteries—this biomass—we are harnessing the power of the sun.

ZBE’s newest plant, Zilkha Biomass Selma (ZBS), will begin production of Zilkha Black® pellets in Dallas County, Alabama, early this year. ZBS will become Zilkha Biomass Energy’s largest plant, and will have an annual production capacity of 275,000 metric tons.  ZBS will also be the first full-scale commercial Black pellet plant in the world and will expand the supply of these durable, water-resistant pellets to the biomass energy market. ZBS, which is replacing Dixie Pellets, has been retrofitted with ZBE’s patented process technology to produce the Zilkha Black® pellet, and is currently in hot commissioning with final system construction. Commercial production is anticipated to begin in the second-half of March 2015. The construction of this plant and its continued operation will stimulate the economy of Dallas County, and will support hundreds of jobs across multiple industries.