by Ben Nuelle
U.S. consumers used a record of nearly 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel in 2015. Biodiesel industry leaders say last year?s figures demonstrate biodiesel?s rising popularity.
The National Biodiesel Board urges Congress to reform the $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax incentive from a blender?s credit to a producer?s credit. Anne Steckel is Vice President of National Affairs at the National Biodiesel Board. She says the $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit is important for the biodiesel industry.
?Currently there is a biodiesel tax credit in place through the end of this year in 2016. It?s a blender?s tax credit meaning if you blend in biodiesel into your fuel you get a dollar tax offset from your excise tax credit. We are working very closely with members of congress to have that tax credit to be moved to a producer?s tax credit. Why it?s so important that we have a producer?s tax credit is because that will ensure only product produced in the United States receives U.S. tax dollars.?
Steckel says Biodiesel is made from a variety of feedstocks.
?Such as soybean oil, canola oil, restaurant grease, animal fats so you process that and make it into the fuel which is the diesel alternative and when you do that you get a dollar tax incentive. What that will do is give the producers a dollar tax incentive and that tax incentive will be shared downstream really help offset the cost of biodiesel.?
Steckel Most of the imports already receive valuable incentives overseas, while US companies are typically barred from taking advantage of those overseas incentives.
