Northwest Producers Unite, Tell Congress to Reinstate Tax Credit

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Last week as the National Biodiesel Conference took place in Orlando, a group of biodiesel producers and stakeholders in the Northwest U.S. came together in a joint statement to support the reinstatement of the $1 per gallon federal biodiesel blenders credit, which expired again on Dec. 31. The credit was absent for most of 2010 until Congress passed a retroactive extension later in the year. Starting in 2005, domestically produced biodiesel has benefited from a biodiesel tax credit that has reduced the cost of biodiesel and encouraged the development of the clean energy industry.

On the expiration, the group—comprised of SeQuential Pacific Biodiesel, General Biodiesel, Inland Empire Oilseeds and Central Washington Biodiesel—stated, “This expiration effectively puts the brakes on growth of one of the most effective, efficient and successful fuel alternatives to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel producers and consumers are bracing for price increases.” READ MORE