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Members of the National Biodiesel Board were on Capitol Hill this week, trying to convince lawmakers to renew the biodiesel tax incentive set to expire at the end of this year.

This NBB press release says Manning Feraci, the Vice President of Federal Affairs for the board made the case before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business:

“We have clearly seen a positive impact since the biodiesel tax incentive was enacted as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004,” Feraci stated. “Not only has there been an increase in jobs, biodiesel has proven to be a viable energy alternative which is environmentally friendly. Continuing this incentive will take the nation one large step closer to energy independence,” Feraci continued.

In 2007 alone, the U.S. biodiesel industry contributed over $4.1 billion to America’s GDP and provided for 21,803 jobs. The biodiesel tax incentive will foster greater growth within the industry and continue to create and promote new, “green,” jobs. By investing American money in America, this tax incentive also helps break our nation’s addiction to foreign oil.

Earlier this week at the new, green NBB building grand opening ceremony in Jefferson City, Mo., Missouri Congressman Kenny Hulshof made the case why the biodiesel industries needs the incentives. He explained that it’s the only way to level the playing field with the petroleum industry that has been the benefactor of tax breaks for decades… even as it enjoyed record profits.

You can hear Hulshof’s comments here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/Hulshofceremony1.mp3]

A handful of students at Washington State University are trying to take their energy future into their own hands. While the WSU Biodiesel Club only got about 10 members at their first meeting this week, organizers hope that the student-run operation soon will be producing 200 gallons of the green fuel a day.

This story from the student paper, The Daily Evergreen, says once they start making a profit, the club’s first order of business is to pay back benefactor Bob Richards, who has put $4,000 of his own money into the idea:

So far, all members of the club are engineering majors currently attending WSU.

“There’s really no qualifications necessary to be a part of this club,” [Nate Storrs, a sophomore mechanical engineeering major and a member of the Biodiesel Club] said. “It was just by chance that we are all of the same major. Really we’re just looking for people who would be willing to devote time and energy into a process that they believe to be worthy.” However, not just anyone can hop onto a machine and make biodiesel. Before production can start, members will need to take a hazardous materials course as well as read up on materials that are on the material safety datasheet, to prevent problems down the line. Once preparation is done, the actual production of biodiesel is simple, Smith said. “All it really takes is cleaning out the oils and grease and then mixing it with methanol and potassium hydroxide, and after a heating process you create usable biodiesel,” Smith said.

If you’re on the campus in Pullman, check out the Biodiesel Club at 5:30 p.m. at the Sloan Hall second-floor lounge.

While Joe Jobe can be quite the accommodating host when it comes to open houses at his new building, he shows no hospitality to those who try to smear the good name of biofuels, in particular, biodiesel.

This week, Belgian professor and so-called United Nations “expert” Olivier de Schutter tried to blame the rise in food prices on biofuels. But Jobe fought back with the best weapon available: the facts:

While the soaring price of oil is overwhelmingly recognized as the major factor driving food price increases, biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel have had a marginal effect on the increase in food prices in the U.S. – about four to five percent – according to the U.S. Department of Energy and the USDA.

Contrary to the assertions of those interested in limiting clean alternative fuels such as biodiesel, food prices would actually be higher without biodiesel. The U.S. biodiesel industry used only 12 percent of U.S. soybean production and four percent of global soybean production to produce fuel in 2007. Even then more than 80 percent of each soybean actually entered the market as protein for either human consumption or animal feed. We are proud of the promise that biodiesel holds for providing a sustainable and cleaner alternative to petroleum.

Jobe added that this is just the latest attempt to make biodiesel and ethanol into scapegoats by reciting nothing more than baseless attacks, including a discredited supplemental position paper erroneously reported as a World Bank “study.”