Tag Archives: renewable
US Biodiesel Imports Surge In June
By Ron Kotrba | September 04, 2013 Here’s a breakdown of where the imports came from, and where the exports went. The U.S. also imported nearly 22 million gallons of “other renewable diesel” in June, up from only 5.7 million gallons in May. In June, 17.2 million gallons of “other renewable diesel” came from Singapore while 4.7 million gallons originated in Finland—two Neste Oil strongholds. Roughly half of the 24.6 million gallons U.S. exports in June went north of the border to Canada (12.8 million gallons), while 6 million gallons was shipped to Spain, and nearly 5.7 million gallons went to Malaysia. Australia received 126,000 gallons of U.S. biomass-based diesel while 42,000 gallons was sent to Taiwan. Continue reading
Biofuels ‘Will Meet RFS Mandates Through 2016’
September 3, 2013 There will be sufficient supply of advanced biofuels to meet the US Renewable Fuel Standard through 2016, according to Environmental Entrepreneurs’ (E2) annual assessment of the advanced biofuel industry . The report comes amidst renewed scrutiny of the RFS from Congress this summer, as the oil industry seeks to roll back the renewable fuel requirements . The RFS requires that the majority of future growth in biofuels production come from non-food cellulosic biofuels, and the slower than expected commercialization of the cellulosic industry has caused some to lose patience with the program, E2 says. The report suggests that the policy is beginning to deliver on its stated purpose of developing a domestically produced, clean-burning alternative to oil. The assessment says advanced biofuels capacity for 2013 is 1 billion gallons gasoline equivalent while capacity for 2015 is between 1.4 and 1.6 billion gallons gasoline equivalent. Additionally, Some 160 commercial scale facilities planned, under construction, or complete from 159 companies and private investment in the advanced biofuel industry totals over $4.85 billion since 2007. Federal loan guarantees exceed $1.1 billion since 2008, the report says. Nine of the current biorefinery projects have received these loan guarantees. To qualify as advanced for the E2 report, a biofuel must deliver at least a 50 percent reduction in carbon intensity compared to petroleum using calculations developed by the California Air Resources Board. Biodiesel remains the dominant advanced biofuel today and is expected to remain the forerunner through 2016. So-called drop-in fuels show significant progress and the report authors expect them to contribute more substantially to overall advanced biofuel capacity over time. The EPA, which administers the RFS, is expected to announce biofuel volume requirements for 2014 sometime over the next month. And while the report shows that the biofuels industry can meet near-term production targets, even under the best circumstances, advanced biofuels can account for only 0.7 percent of US fuel demand — suggesting that while biofuels can be part of efforts to cut oil use, they must be paired with other solutions such as expanded electric vehicle use and greater fuel efficiency, E2 says. California is ahead of the biodiesel curve , according to a study published last month by E2 and Environmental Defense Fund. Growing production in the state shows California companies have started capitalizing on this low-carbon fuel. Companies profiled in the report credit California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which calls for lower emissions from transportation fuels, with driving demand for and growth of biofuels in the state. Continue reading
EPA Slashes Cellulosic Biofuels Mandate
August 7, 2013 The EPA has slashed the amount of cellulosic biofuels that refiners must blend into their gasoline and diesel, from its initial proposal for 14 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel to 6 million gallons in the final 2013 requirement. The rule, issued yesterday, sets percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the Renewable Fuel Standard program. The final 2013 overall volumes and standards require 16.55 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be blended into the US fuel supply— a 9.74 percent blend. This standard specifically requires: Biomass-based diesel (1.28 billion gallons; 1.13 percent) Advanced biofuels (2.75 billion gallons; 1.62 percent) Cellulosic biofuels (6 million gallons; 0.004 percent) The biomass -based diesel and advanced biofuels requirements are the same as originally proposed by the agency in February. In all, the 2013 quotas represent an almost 9 percent increase over the 2012 mandated renewable fuel volume of 15.2 billion gallons. The EPA is also giving refiners more time to comply with the 2013 volume requirements by expending the deadline by four months, to June 30, 2014. During this rulemaking, the agency says it received comments from a number of stakeholders concerning the “E10 blend wall.” Projected to occur in 2014, the E10 blend wall refers to the difficulty in incorporating ethanol into the fuel supply at volumes exceeding those achieved by the sale of nearly all gasoline as E10. Most gasoline sold in the US today is E10. In the final rule issued yesterday, the EPA said it will propose to use flexibilities in the Renewable Fuel Standard statute to reduce both the advanced biofuel and total renewable volumes in the forthcoming 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirement proposal. In January, a US federal court struck down the 2012 Renewable Fuel Standard target for refiner use of cellulosic biofuels, which stood at 8.65 million gallons, but upheld the government’s goal for use of other advanced fuels. The EPA says the final 2013 standard for cellulosic biofuel announced today was developed in a manner consistent with the approach outlined in that ruling. The American Petroleum Institute (API) had filed a lawsuit against the EPA over the cellulosic biofuel target. There was no commercial production of the fuel last year, BusinessWeek notes. Despite the lower cellulosic biofuel requirement and extended deadline, some oil industry groups aren’t happy with the EPA’s final ruling. API president and CEO Jack Gerard called the 2013 biofuel mandates a “missed opportunity to fix the problem” and called on Congress to “immediately repeal the broken mandate,” echoing earlier calls by API and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers for a complete repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard . The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), on the other hand, applauded the ruling and said it provides advanced biofuel developers and investors with confidence that if they can produce advanced and cellulosic biofuels, they will have market access. Efforts to repeal the program are “motivated solely by the oil refining industry’s desire to block competition and consumer choice at the pump,” said Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section. The Energy Independence and Security Act established the Renewable Fuel Standard program and the annual renewable fuel volume targets, which steadily increase to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, the EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year. Based on the standard, each refiner and importer determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel. Continue reading
