The use of biodiesel in heating oil, better known as Bioheat, will be one of the key stories for the heating oil business in 2011.

HeatingOil.com reports the green fuel for warm living will be in the top five stories for the new year:

Biodiesel-blended heating oil (also known by its trademarked brand name, Bioheat) continued to make its way to residential fuel tanks around the country in 2010, and is poised to continue its spread it 2011. Just last month, the biodiesel industry scored two huge victories: the rejection of the refining industry’s legal challenge to the national Renewable Fuels Standard and the reinstatement of the $1-per-gallon tax credit for biodiesel producers. With this support, the biodiesel industry is starting 2011 in a position of strength, which will probably mean increasing numbers of heating oil users gaining access to biodiesel heating oil, which could make 2011 the year that biodiesel heating oil really takes off.

While bioheat alone is the number three story of the year, it will have its fingers in the pies of all the other top 5 heating oil stories in 2011, including 1. Economic recovery and the price of crude; 2. New commodity trading regulations; 4. Low-sulfur requirements; and 5. The battle over US greenhouse gas emissions regulation.