WASHINGTON, Jan 5, 2017 - Biodiesel production in Iowa
reached a record
297 million gallons in 2016, surpassing 2015’s total of 242 million gallons,
according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
“This record-busting year speaks volumes of the hard work
and strength of Iowa’s biodiesel producers,” IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw
says.
Shaw notes that Iowa is home to some of the “most efficient
biodiesel plants in the world,” which took advantage of strong demand in 2016.
IRFA says the 23 percent increase is largely attributable to
policy certainty at the federal level during 2016, including the biodiesel tax incentive and Renewable Fuel
Standard. State-level policies targeting higher biodiesel blends, such
as Iowa’s
B11 excise tax differential, also helped drive demand, the group says.
Compared to 2015, IRFA says soybean oil remained the largest
feedstock for Iowa biodiesel production, at about 66 percent. Animal fats
dropped slightly to 14 percent of production, while corn oil held steady at
around 10 percent.
Used cooking oil and canola oil doubled their 2015 numbers, the
group notes, combining to account for roughly 10 percent of the state’s 2016
biodiesel production.
With the federal biodiesel tax credit already expired on Dec.
31, Shaw emphasizes that “regardless of the pending challenges” of 2017, Iowa
plants are “well positioned to remain number one in biodiesel production.”
#30
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