Biodiesel production exceeds 1 billion gallons in 2012

The U.S. biodiesel industry broke the mark of 1 billion gallons production figures in the year 2012 for the second year in a row, according to the EPA, to the end of the year. The total volume of nearly 1.1 billion gallons exceeded the production 2011 to 6 million gallons, National Biodiesel Board says.

December production was only 59 million gallons, the lowest monthly volume of the year. The decline in production attributed to the National Biodiesel Board uncertainty about the tax credit for biodiesel. Congress renewed the incentive for $1 per gallon on the day of the new year in the framework of the so-called "fiscal cliff" legislation. Under the EPA, biodiesel production is biomass-based diesel category in the renewable fuel standard (RFS) reported. The fuel produced oil, soybean oil and animal fats from a mixture of resources such as recycling. See the press release National Biodiesel Board and EPA RFS website.

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Washington State Becomes the Largest Public Biodiesel Consumer

Washington State Ferries, owned and operated by the state transportation department, is the largest ferry service in the United States and third largest in the world. Twenty-two ferries transport 11 million passengers from the mainland and larger islands across Puget Sound each year at a cost of 18 million gallons of diesel fuel.

In 2009, Washington's transportation department concluded a five-year pilot program that determined biodiesel fuel blends—soy-based biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel—to be a viable fuel source for normal operations in any weather condition. Today, thanks to a $165,000 American Recovery Act and Reinvestment Act loan through the DOE State Energy Program, the ferries run on a blended biodiesel fuel that will prevent over 65 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the environment each year.

The pilot program proved the viability of the fuel, but there was still a kink in the biodiesel supply chain. Traditionally, the blending process needs to be performed in a specialized facility and then transported to customers, which is costly in time and resources. Instead, biodiesel producer Whole Energy Corporation installed a system with the State Energy Program loan to blend biodiesel with petroleum-based diesel on distribution trucks.

Using this method, the corporation has been able to deliver this biofuel blend to its customers at a competitive rate and keep the state-owned ferry service afloat with locally blended biofuel. Since making the cost-competitive upgrade, Whole Energy has also expanded its customer base to other ferry lines serving Puget Sound communities and also the Army Corps of Engineers. See the Energy Blog post.

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