US Biodiesel Production Hits Record High

The US produced 132 million gallons of biodiesel in October, a record amount that is 75 percent more than the same month in 2012, according to the latest data released by the US Energy Information Administration.

Production in October 2013 was about 5 million gallons more than in September, according to the EIA data. Some 92 million gallons of the October total was sold as B100, or 100 percent biodiesel. The remaining fuel was sold in biodiesel blends with diesel fuel derived from petroleum, EIA says.

The monthly biodiesel production report provides data on operations of the US biodiesel industry as part of the agency’s adherence to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which requires EIA to publish information on renewable fuels.

The Midwest region produced 67 percent of the US biodiesel total. Production came from 112 biodiesel plants with capacity of 2.2 billion gallons per year.

The US is the dominant force in the advanced biofuels market, with 67 percent of current global projects based in America, according to a study released in October 2013 by Navigant Research.

The US’ Renewable Fuel Standard, which calls for 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuel production by 2022, will help keep the country at the epicenter of the market in the coming years, according to Advanced Biofuels Country Rankings.

Despite the potential for advanced biofuels, politicians and industry are concerned with the RFS’ ethanol mandate.

Last month, a bipartisan group of eight senators, led by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK), introduced a bill to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard’s ethanol mandate. The Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2013 would remove the “top-line mandate” for renewable fuels, but not requirements for non-corn-based advanced biofuels. 

The American Petroleum institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers also filed a court brief last month accusing the EPA of ignoring a series of legal deadlines for the RFS. The EPA is required to issue annual renewable fuel levels each November, prior to the new year’s targets, but did not issue the 2013 RFS levels until August 2013.