Even though the past year has been tough for the biofuels industry, the “Advanced Biofuels Market Report 2012,”  from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) says the advanced biofuels industry is still growing. Today, advanced biofuel production has exceeded 685 million gallons. Estimates are that the industry has the ability to grow to between 1.6 billion to 2.6 billion by 2015.

There are several drivers to growth including the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). As the industry matures, costs should come down as well as carbon emissions. The policies both include reduction of carbon emissions measured by a carbon intensity score and this becomes an added incentive to commercialize advanced biofuels. The study estimates if the standards come to full fruition, somewhere between 18,407 and 47,700 new jobs could be created.

“What this report shows is that we have sufficient, proven technology to meet these new standards that will help clear our air, strengthen our economy and provide new choices in transportation fuels,” said Bob Epstein, co-founder of Environmental Entrepreneurs.

Each year Californians use about 18 billion gallons of transportation fuel and these same fuels produce nearly 40 percent of the state’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Of the 27 new advanced biofuels facilities expected to go into production by 2015, three will be located in California. The state is home to eight advanced biofuel refineries already in production and is expected to house several additional demonstration projects in the near term.