Biodiesel Exec Pushes to Keep State Biofuel Mandate in Place
by Dennis Domrzalski (Albuquerque Business First) One of America’s largest producers of biodiesel said it might walk away from its unfinished biodiesel plant in Clovis if the state Legislature rolls back a mandate that all diesel fuel sold in the state contain 5 percent biodiesel.
Renewable Energy Group Inc. of Ames, Iowa, would forego an additional $7 million to $15 million investment in the Clovis plant, which it bought in 2010, and focus its investment and production efforts on its biodiesel facilities in other states if New Mexico repeals the mandate, said Scott Hedderich, REG’s director of corporate affairs.
… The mandate never took effect because the state doesn’t have the infrastructure to support that much biodiesel and the fuel costs too much, said a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. The mandate would require 1.5 million to 2 million gallons of biodiesel in the state each month, but the state has only one producer with a capacity of 1.5 million gallons a year, said spokeswoman Katie Goetz.
Hedderich said that argument is “missing the forest through the trees.” New Mexico, he said, is well-positioned to supply its own biodiesel needs and to ship the renewable resource to California as well. Because biodiesel can be made from beef tallow, New Mexico, with its large dairy industry, could become an important supplier, he added. READ MORE
