Senators and Industry Speak Out In Favor of Biodiesel

With a final decision in the Renewable Volume Obligates (RVOs) expected in June, the biodiesel industry is getting increasingly vocal about the damage that regulatory uncertainty has already caused their industry.  Biodiesel is the first commercial scale advanced biofuel, as defined by the EPA.  It is sourced from reclaimed fats and oils, including soybean oil, as well as recycled cooking oil and animal fats.  Despite production levels of nearly 1.8 billion gallons of biodiesel last year, the proposed RVOs would reduce this amount to 1.28 billion gallons, squeezing this successful industry.  On Wednesday, May 14, the National Biodiesel Board, several biodiesel producers, along with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Al Franken (D-MN), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), spoke out against the chilling effect the proposed reductions to biodiesel will have – and which already have occurred.

According to a survey conducted this spring by the National Biodiesel Board, 78 percent of U.S. biodiesel producers have already scaled back production levels as compared to 2013.  The industry has plants in nearly every state, and supports 62,000 jobs.  Unfortunately, two-thirds of producers have already reduced their workforce, or plan on workforce reductions, in light of the regulatory uncertainty.  Producers spoke to the chilling effect the proposed RVOs, as well as the expiration of the biodiesel tax credits have already had on their industry.  According to Wayne Presby, owner of White Mountain Biodiesel in North Haverhill, N.H., “we made these investments because we believed in what the Administration and Congress were trying to accomplish with the Renewable Fuel Standard … But with this RFS proposal and the uncertain tax policy from Congress, that expansion and the jobs that would come with it are on hold.”

Members of Congress also expressed frustration, both at the proposed RVO reductions and the expiration of the $1 a gallon biodiesel tax incentive on January 1 – the third time it has expired in five years.  Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) commented on the chilling effect it has had on industry, stating “it’s time to provide predictability so that Washington state innovative companies … can grow … Investing in biodiesel is a win-win-win: it’s good for energy security, good for the environment and it means jobs today in Washington state and around the country.”  

For more information see:

Biodiesel Producers Hit Hard by Policy Uncertainty, National Biodiesel Board

Democrat Senators push for new RFS and tax credits for biodiesel, Agri-Pulse

Author: Jessie Stolark