The price producers or importers of renewable fuel are having to pay for biodiesel RINs … Renewable Identification Numbers … have been going up as we approached today’s kickoff of the new Renewable Fuels Standard … better known as RFS2.

The 38-numeral identifiers are the basic currency for the RFS program for credits, trading, and use by obligated parties and renewable fuel exporters to demonstrate compliance, as well as track the volumes of renewable fuels, and Biodiesel Magazine says producers were taking heart at the news that bids were jumping up to 50 cents for biodiesel RINs,

Wayne Presby, a managing partner with White Mountain Biodiesel LLC in Haverhill, N.H., said the high biodiesel RIN credit prices were reassuring for him in these times without the $1 per gallon federal tax credit. White Mountain Biodiesel, a 5.5 MMgy biodiesel plant, has been under construction for approximately a year and a half, and Presby told Biodiesel Magazine on July 1 that construction is finally complete and the plant is undergoing commissioning along with IRS and U.S. EPA registrations. The plant’s fuel, which is made from waste greases, is meeting ASTM quality specifications.

Clean Fuels Clearinghouse and RINSTAR founder Clayton McMartin said with type B biodiesel RINs, it is economics 101 with price driving the supply and demand balance.“RFS2 has set the demand—the lack of the tax credit has reduced supply,” McMartin said. “The RIN credit price will continue to increase until the obligated parties have acquired sufficient RINs to meet this year’s mandate. Void of the tax credit, if the RIN price gets high enough then more production will come back online.”

McMartin went on to warn about volatility in the biodiesel market could cause violent swings in RIN prices.