Advanced BioFuels USA

by Donnell Rehagen (National Biodiesel Board/Clean Fuels Alliance America/Agri/Pulse) America’s demand for cleaner, better fuels is growing. Washington state recently joined Oregon and California in launching a clean fuels program. New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island have adopted requirements for Bioheat® fuel in heating oil. Airlines around the world are committing to use as much sustainable aviation fuel as they can. And companies large and small are examining every link of their supply chain for ways to reduce carbon. Meeting these demands requires stable policy and market signals.

That’s one reason our trade association is evolving and becoming the Clean Fuels Alliance America. Our new name embraces all the products our members and others are producing to meet America’s need for clean, low-carbon energy – biodiesel, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation, heating, maritime and railroad fuels. Looking at the market signals from these trends, we expect our industry to double in size during this decade.

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Biodiesel and renewable diesel are used in heavy-duty sectors, such as trucking and shipping, that keep supply chains moving and are among the hardest to shift away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels. Our key to sustainability is the use of a wide variety of raw materials, including a number of recycled waste feedstocks, such as used cooking oil and animal fats, in addition to surplus vegetable oils. About half of the feedstock we use in the United States is soybean oil, and our use has been stable and steady over the past two years. As such, domestic clean fuel producers play a key role in balancing the costs that add up for consumers in their monthly food bills.

Farmers grow soybeans primarily as a very high protein animal feed. The meal – which makes up about 80% of the soybean – is also used in baked goods and other food items. America’s soybean farmers have been able to sustainably increase yields to meet the needs of both food and fuel markets. Moreover, farmers need a variety of market opportunities – for both the meal and the oil – to continue to succeed. When soybean farmers receive value for the oil from biofuel producers, they can provide meal to animal producers and bakers at a balanced price.

Growth of the biodiesel and renewable diesel industry is providing a market signal to expand soybean processing capacity in the United States. Traditionally, half of all soybeans grown in the United States – meal and oil – are exported. These new facilities will ensure that U.S. farmers have more markets at home – both food and fuel –for what they grow. The clean fuels industry’s growth will continue to match the sustainable growth in oil seed production and processing.  READ MORE