TIMELINE: Biodiesel’s growth in the US

03 November 2006 15:01  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Rudolf Diesel - the inventor of the fuel-compression engine - predicted the growth of renewable fuels in 1912, when he said, “the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and coal tar products of the present.”

Although too early to say its time has arrived, biodiesel could become a more critical part of the US fuel supply due to a slew of political, economic and environmental factors.

Biodiesel is the nation’s fastest-growing alternative fuel, according to the US Department of Energy. Production tripled in one year to 75m gallons in 2005 and is on track to hit 150m gallons in 2006 but this is still a drop in the ocean compared with overall diesel use at about 37bn gallons/year.

Listed below are critical events that have shaped the life of this new fuel, which is being touted for its potential environmental and security benefits.

HISTORICAL

October, 2006 - President George W. Bush said he would continue to support ethanol and biodiesel fuels but urged Congress to authorize more offshore drilling to sustain US energy supplies until bio-based fuels can be developed. Bush had warned that US dependence on foreign oil threatened the country’s economic, security and environmental well-being.

September, 2006 -Texas overtook Iowa as the top biodiesel-producing state. There were 13 biodiesel producers in Texas with combined capacity of 87m gallons/year

June, 2006 - Chevron said it would invest up to $12m on technology to make biofuels from forest and agricultural waste and fuel from hydrogen. The production of cellulosic biofuels from renewable resources would be an advancement over ethanol and biodiesel, which are made from crops.

April, 2006 - Love’s, a chain of Texas truck-stops, began selling biodiesel at its outlets. The deal represented a breakthrough for the fuel, which along with other alternative fuels had struggled to overcome distribution issues. 

January, 2006 - President Bush acknowledged that the US is “addicted to oil” in his state of the union speech, boosting support for the biofuels industry.

Also in January, DaimlerChrysler became the first US automaker to approve of B20, a blend of 20% biodiesel, in a warranty. The company approved use of the blend fuel in its 2007 model year Dodge Ram pickups.

October, 2005 - The American Trucking Association endorsed a resolution that included promoting low blends of biodiesel, up to 5%.

July, 2005 - Congress passed an energy bill that extends a federal excise tax credit for biodiesel through 2008. The incentive - which was set to expire at the end of 2006 - amounted to a penny per percentage point of biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel for first-use oils, like soybean oil, and a half-penny per percentage for biodiesel made from other sources, like recycled cooking oil.

May, 2005 - An independent refinery in San Antonio, Texas, said it would offer B20, making it the first to offer a biodiesel blend in the US.

Also that month, Chevron said one of its subsidiaries bought 22% of a large-scale biodiesel plant in Galveston, Texas.

March, 2005 - Biodiesel Industries started the first renewable-energy powered plant to produce biodiesel using biogas extracted from a nearby landfill.

October, 2004 - President Bush signed the first biodiesel tax incentive into law. The tax credit took effect in January, 2005 and was set to last two years.

August, 2004 - President Bush and Democratic nominee Senator John Kerry, Democrat – Massachusetts, touted biodiesel and other biofuels as a means to diversify the US energy supply.

October, 2003 - Military officials announced plans to recycle used cooking oil by processing it into biodiesel for use in Navy vehicles.

April, 2001 - The Iowa Legislature passed a bill to buy soy biodiesel for state vehicles.

Further information is available on the following websites:

National Biodiesel Board:
http://www.biodiesel.org/

American Soybean Association:
http://www.soygrowers.com/

 

By: Joseph Lohan
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(ICIS Podcast: Chemical News Central 2 November 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly