Biodiesel production down; ethanol still at record surplus

Des Moines Register
4:40 PM, Mar 21, 2012 by Dan Piller

Biodiesel production has dropped from its record levels of late-2011 after the renewable fuel’s $1 per gallon tax credit expired on Jan. 1. But ethanol production continues at record levels.

The U.S. biodiesel industry produced 135 million gallons of fuel in the first two months of 2012, according to new numbers released by the EPA Wednesday.

The recent volume is ahead of the 80 million gallons produced in the same two months of 2011, but down from the record production late last year when the industry exceeded 100 million gallons per month for five consecutive months and reached a peak of 160 million gallons in December.

In 2011 biodiesel enjoyed a resurgence after congress not only reinstated the tax credit but also began a mandate of 800 million gallons to be used last year, expanded to 1 billion gallons in 2012.

Read more