From the Wall Street Journal:
BRUSSELS—The European Commission said Thursday it would investigate whether U.S. biodiesel is being shipped through third countries to avoid tariffs placed last year on direct shipments from the U.S. to the European Union.
The commission, the EU’s executive arm, also said it would examine whether U.S. producers are shipping their product in blends that contain less than 20% pure biodiesel to avoid the tariffs, which only apply to blends containing more than 20%.
Ahhh,, in a word “Yes”. Within a month after the EU passed the tariff, we were contacted by an exporter that wanted to buy our biodiesel to export to Europe through the Caribbean. We declined, as we believe in using it domestically (over 95% of our fuel is used here in North Carolina). The exporter, ironically is now out of business.
But the bigger irony is that biodiesel production has basically been crippled in the United States because of the failure of Congress to pass the biodiesel tax credit, and because of other encumbering and onerous government compliance reporting programs that are choking the industry.
According to DOE reports, in 2008, there were approximately 678 Million gallons of biodiesel produced in the USA. In 2009, production appears to be less than 200 Million. The 2010 DOE biodiesel production data are not released yet, but given the tax credit was not renewed in December of 2010, estimates are as low as 50 Million gallons of biodiesel will be produced in all of 2010. I know the NBB national convention was a ghost town this year in Dallas, compared to previous years attendance.
I don’t think the the EU needs to do a thing here. Just sit back and watch our renewable fuel economy shrivel up and die. Our congress is doing all the work for them. Problem solved.
All the squawking by the President and Congress about supporting domestic renewable fuels, supporting small business, and creating “green” jobs appears to just be smoke. So what exactly is the EU really worried about here? Kicking a dying horse when it’s down?
The full WSJ article is here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704407804575424750813493056.html and is worth reading since it talks about Europe being the biggest biofuel market in the world. That means it’s bigger than Brazil’s ethanol (and soon biodiesel) economy and our own here in the USA, yet the USA is by far the largest consumer of petroleum fuel in the world. Shouldn’t we be the largest biofuel market in the world, just by sheer statistics?
It would therefore be easy to presume that the support for the petroleum industry and lack of initiative towards the biofuel industry must be intentional, otherwise it would not be so.
Biofuels in the USA is a complex issue apparently, but it shouldn’t be. Biodiesel is renewable, domestic, clean, and supports local jobs and local agriculture. If you’re reading this and never have tried biodiesel in your diesel car or truck, why not? Try it, ask for it at your gas station, google “biodiesel” and find your nearest producer. Let’s start using biodiesel here at home where it will help everybody in this country and let the Europeans find something else to complain about us over.
Via OPIS:
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) is continuing to push for the $1/gal biodiesel tax credit to be reinstated as soon as possible.
“As the U.S. Senate continues to tinker with the tax extenders package, biodiesel plants in Iowa and around the country remain idle and continue to lay- off workers,” said IRFA Past President and Western Iowa Energy Board Member Denny Mauser, in a statement issued on Friday.
The one-year, retroactive extension of the biodiesel tax credit is included in a tax extenders package (H.R. 4213) that remains in the Senate. Last Thursday, despite attempts to further reduce the cost of the $118 billion tax extenders package, the Senate was unable to approve cloture — essentially limiting debate on the measure and moving towards passage — on an amended version of the bill by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). To approve a cloture motion, 60 approval votes are needed, but the Senate only received 56, with 40 votes against the motion.
“The president stated on Tuesday [during his Oval Office address] that he would not settle for inaction on tackling America’s addiction to fossil fuels, but that is exactly what happened,” Mauser continued. “The Senate failed once again to jumpstart the proven petroleum-displacing ability of America’s first advanced biofuel. By restoring the biodiesel tax incentive, one billion gallons of renewable fuel can begin displacing crude oil immediately,” he noted.
Additionally, on Friday the Senate passed legislation to prevent Medicare doctors from receiving a 21% pay cut starting this week — a provision called “doc fix” that was taken out of the tax extenders bill, Mauser explained. “It took one hundred senators to agree to the ‘doc fix.’ While I understand that is important, how can the biodiesel industry be left in the lurch as a million or more gallons of crude oil continue to spew into the Gulf waters each day?,” he continued. “Any one senator could have stood up and said, ‘Let’s end the pay cuts and job losses for workers in the biodiesel industry at the same time as we pass the doctor pay-cut fix.’ After six months of devastating inaction, its past time for that type of Senate leadership,” he added.
Meanwhile, legislative sources following the tax extenders issue expect the Senate to continue discussing the package, with supporters likely to cut more funding in order to gain the necessary 60 votes to pass the tax package.
Although, sources believe the biodiesel tax credit is not on the chopping block.
H.R. 4213, also known as the JOBS bill, is an amended version of the legislation that passed the House in late May, after some cuts were made to help offset the cost of the bill and gain congressional support. Since the Senate is likely to make changes to the House version of the bill, the measure will have to be re-approved in the House before it is sent to the president for his signature.
Still, it remains a frustrating time for the biodiesel industry. The biodiesel tax credit expired at the end of last year, and since then, the U.S. industry has been operating at reduced rates.
Meanwhile, even if the tax extenders bill with the biodiesel tax credit extension is passed into law, which only provides an extension through the end of this year. But sources say the priority “first and foremost” remains on the retroactive extension.
With Earth Day here, I thought it slightly ironic that the biodiesel tax credit still has not been passed, yet a large gathering in the National Mall in Washing DC is underway. Earth Day is about climate change. Biodiesel certainly has it’s place there since it burns much cleaner than petroleum diesel, but biodiesel is much more than that too. It’s domestic, produced here in the USA. It’s non-toxic and very safe to use and transport. It’s biodegradable. It’s a drop in replacement for existing fuel, no huge infrastructure changes required, and (by some accounts) if it were as heavily subsidized as petroleum, would be damn near free. Congress is claiming that the tax credit will be passed by the Memorial Day recess. Here’s hoping…
From the NBB:
Jefferson City, Mo. – With the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day upon us, it is imperative that Congress move immediately to ensure the survival of America’s first advanced biofuel – biodiesel.
“Lawmakers need look no further than the National Mall to see cleaner-burning biodiesel at work powering generators this Earth Day,” said National Biodiesel Board (NBB) CEO Joe Jobe. “Not only does biodiesel have the best greenhouse gas reduction of any domestic transportation fuel, but also it is the only advanced biofuel currently in the U.S. commercial marketplace.”
In recognition of Earth Day, the National Biodiesel Board is urging Members of Congress to reinstate the biodiesel tax incentive immediately. Since the credit lapsed on December 31, 2009, domestic biodiesel production has plummeted to nearly a standstill. One of the most successful energy policy initiatives ever enacted, the program makes biodiesel price competitive with petroleum diesel.
The biodiesel tax credit allows the U.S. to reap the significant environmental benefits associated with the sustainable fuel, including:
Biodiversity: Biodiesel is the most diverse fuel on the planet, made from a wide variety of oil and fat by-products of regional crop and livestock production.
Regional diversity: More than 150 biodiesel plants support green jobs and green investment in nearly all 50 states, producing fuel from regionally available resources.
Carbon reduction: Last year, biodiesel’s contribution to reducing greenhouse gas was the equivalent of removing over 774,000 passenger vehicles from America’s roadways.
Energy balance: Biodiesel produces 4.5 units of energy for every 1 unit it takes to make the fuel, boasting the highest energy balance, and the highest energy content of any American-made renewable fuel.
Both the House and Senate have passed bills to retroactively extend the biodiesel tax credit. However, the two chambers must still reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill before it can be sent to the President.
Soy Biodiesel Lab Samples
sending...