The head of the National Biodiesel Board is making his case in defense of the green fuel. NBB CEO Joe Jobe recently responded in the Wall Street Journal to a previous article that tried to claim advanced biofuels aren’t being produced on a commercial scale:
Biodiesel is an EPA-designated advanced biofuel that’s made from an array of resources including waste fats and greases and agricultural oils. For the past two years, our industry has exceeded national targets and produced more than one billion gallons annually of clean, renewable fuel.
With production plants in nearly every state, the industry’s success is creating thousands of jobs in communities across the country. Furthermore, biodiesel often saves consumers money. This week, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus testified on Capitol Hill about one Naval facility saving 13 cents a gallon by purchasing 20% biodiesel blends for its heating oil, for a total reduction of some $30,000 for the winter.
Most importantly, however, the Renewable Fuel Standard is good policy because it is working to address the fact that our transportation fuel supply, which drives our economy, is reliant on a single source.
Jobe goes on to say that the price of petroleum is not based on supply and demand factors in the U.S., but on economic and political factors in “unstable and hostile regions of the world.” And he says this will continue, even if there is more domestic production of petroleum. He adds that diversifying into renewable fuels, such as biodiesel, will break the addiction and risk of having petroleum as a single transportation fuel source.